Phillies Lineup for Game 1 of the NL Wild Card vs. Braves

For the third time in five years, the Phillies and Braves are taking this rivalry into October. Game 1 of the best-of-three Wild Card Series is Tuesday at 2 p.m. ET at Truist Park.

Atlanta won the NL East for the seventh time in nine seasons, and that’s worth respecting. It’s also worth remembering the Braves won 100-plus games in both 2022 and 2023, and the Phillies ended their season in the Division Series both times. Division titles haven’t meant much in this matchup once October starts.

Phillies: Jesús Luzardo

Luzardo is basically an opener Tuesday. He hasn’t started since Sept. 7, and that start just happens to be a two-hit shutout against these same Braves in Philadelphia. The last time Atlanta saw him, they couldn’t do anything with him. The problem is the shoulder inflammation that followed. He isn’t built up for a normal start, and the only batters he’s faced since the injury came in his four-pitch eighth inning on Sunday.

Jesus Luzardo and the Phillies rotation for the NL Wild Card series against the Braves

Andrew Painter will be ready behind him and should see real innings in this game. The Phillies have been burned by bullpen games while Luzardo was out, so even a short, clean outing from him is a big step up from what they’ve been running out there.

Braves: Chris Sale

Sale is coming off one of the best seasons a Braves pitcher has ever had. His 2.16 ERA was third in the majors, and he was tough on the Phillies with a 2.08 ERA across four starts and 26 innings. The 2024 NL Cy Young winner is making his first postseason appearance since 2021.

His October résumé is a different story. Sale’s signature playoff moment came out of the bullpen, when he struck out all three Dodgers he faced to close out the 2018 World Series for Boston.

As a starter, he owns a 7.24 ERA in seven postseason outings and has failed to finish five innings in four of them. The regular-season Sale is as good as anyone in baseball. The postseason Sale has been hittable, and the Phillies need to make him throw pitches early.

Phillies Lineup:

Let's ring it pic.twitter.com/e8gt0NN7HU

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) September 29, 2026

Mattingly has shuffled things all week trying to jumpstart an offense that was among the worst in baseball in September. This is what he’s going with against Sale:

1. Trea Turner, SS
2. Kyle Schwarber, DH
3. Bryce Harper, RF
4. Alec Bohm, 1B
5. Derek Hill, CF
6. Bryan De La Cruz, LF
7. Bryson Stott, 2B
8. Edmundo Sosa, 3B
9. J.T. Realmuto, C

The notable move is Stott sliding down to seventh with Hill and De La Cruz moving up behind Bohm. Mattingly is stacking right-handed bats in the middle to get Stott’s lefty bat away from the heart of the order against Sale, and that’s the right way to play it. Realmuto stays ninth after breaking his 0-for-32 skid on Sunday, which takes some pressure off him.

Braves Lineup:

1. Drake Baldwin, C
2. Ronald Acuña Jr., RF
3. Matt Olson, 1B
4. Mauricio Dubón, LF
5. Michael Harris II, CF
6. Ozzie Albies, 2B
7. Austin Riley, 3B
8. Mike Yastrzemski, DH
9. Ha-Seong Kim, SS

Baldwin is behind the plate instead of DH, Dubón moves to left field with Lane Thomas out, and Ha-Seong Kim gets the start at short. Acuña is the bat that matters most. He closed the season hot and posted a 1.377 OPS in seven September games against the Phillies. Behind him, the lineup has been far less dangerous. Baldwin and Dubón were the only other Braves with a .750 OPS or better in September.

Lineup Trends…

There’s no dressing up the Phillies offense in September. They were tied for 29th in baseball in batting average (.226) and slugging (.356), and 29th in OPS (.660) and runs per game (3.71). The postseason is a clean slate, and Sunday’s six extra-base hits looked like a team finally shaking it off. That has to carry over against Sale.

On the Atlanta side, Baldwin, Dubón and Harris have all been at .850 OPS or better since Sept. 14, so the top half of that lineup is where the danger is. Riley hit two homers in the final week, but the last two weeks overall were a grind for him. Albies has been under a .500 OPS since Sept. 14, and that’s a big hole in the middle of their order.

This series will come down to whether the Phillies bats show up. Luzardo already proved he can shut this lineup down, and Sale has a long history of coming apart in October. First pitch is at 2.

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