ATLANTA -- Grant Holmes might have known whether he will be starting or following an opener in Game 3 of the National League Wild Card Series against the Phillies on Thursday. If so, he can only hope he pitches as well as he played coy.
“I’m going to go to bed like I do every single night, and if I do find out I'm starting, I'm gonna do the same thing, same routine,” Holmes said following the Braves’ 4-3 loss on Wednesday. “I'm gonna be good.”
With this best-of-three series tied, the Braves have to hope Holmes is very good, regardless of when he enters Thursday’s winner-take-all game. If the right-hander doesn’t start, he would likely follow Ray Kerr or Brent Suter, a pair of left-handers who could be assigned to get through Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper in the first inning.
Thursday's Game 3, airing on NBC and Peacock, will start at 8 p.m. ET.
“When you use an opener, it's always matchup-oriented,” Braves manager Walt Weiss said. “You don't do it just to do it. It has to be the right matchups, the right personnel. But yeah, we used Ray Kerr [as an opener] the other day, and Ray is throwing the ball really well for us. So, it's a nice weapon to have with Ray.”
When it was Holmes’ turn to start last Friday, the Braves used Kerr as an opener.
Kerr posted a 1.47 ERA over 18 1/3 innings in nine appearances going back to his Aug. 17 season debut. Left-handed hitters have gone 4-for-23 (.174) against him with one extra-base hit, a double.
Kerr made two appearances against the Phillies in September, with the most recent a three-inning outing on Sept. 13. He got Schwarber to ground into a double play and then struck out Trea Turner to end the fifth. Harper began the sixth with a double but was left stranded.
Kerr has made just 19 big league appearances since the start of 2024. After tossing three scoreless innings against the Marlins on Friday, he said he would gladly welcome the chance to be an opener in the postseason.
Suter is the more experienced option, having made 51 career starts. He was used as an opener for the Angels three times this year and again on Saturday, when he allowed one hit over three scoreless innings against the Marlins.
Left-handed hitters produced a .778 OPS against Suter during the regular season. But they constructed just a .657 OPS against him after he was acquired by Atlanta on Aug. 3.
Holmes posted a 3.57 ERA in 29 starts this season and a 2.94 ERA over his final 14 starts. Opponents produced a .590 OPS against him the first time facing him in a game and an .886 OPS during the second plate appearance.
Holmes will be tasked with giving the Braves’ high-leverage relievers a chance to close out the game in victorious fashion. But Didier Fuentes, Dylan Lee and closer Raisel Iglesias will all be pitching for a third straight day if needed again on Thursday.
“I”m going to go out and do my best,” Holmes said. “That’s all I can do.”