The Braves will announce their Game 3 starter any moment now, but we know who will be on the mound for the Phillies, 2018 All-Star and nine-year veteran Aaron Nola.
In his career, Nola is 15-10 with a 3.40 ERA against the Braves, including a 3.50 ERA in three starts this season, but there are a few names at the top of the order that have gotten the best of him.
2023 Braves vs. Aaron Nola
| 1 | Ozzie Albies | B | 63 | 59 | 15 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 12 | .254 | .302 | .339 | .641 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Austin Riley | R | 54 | 51 | 21 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 3 | 15 | .412 | .444 | .804 | 1.248 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | Ronald Acuña Jr. | R | 53 | 46 | 15 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 7 | 12 | .326 | .415 | .696 | 1.111 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Marcell Ozuna | R | 50 | 48 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 2 | 16 | .271 | .300 | .542 | .842 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 5 | Travis d’Arnaud | R | 34 | 33 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 9 | .152 | .176 | .394 | .570 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | Matt Olson | L | 24 | 21 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 | .238 | .333 | .476 | .810 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 7 | Orlando Arcia | R | 19 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | .056 | .105 | .056 | .161 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | Eddie Rosario | L | 19 | 19 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 9 | .105 | .105 | .158 | .263 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | Michael Harris II | L | 18 | 17 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 5 | .176 | .167 | .588 | .755 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | Kevin Pillar | R | 9 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .333 | .333 | .333 | .667 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | Sean Murphy | R | 8 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .250 | .250 | .375 | .625 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | Nicky Lopez | L | 4 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .500 | .500 | .500 | 1.000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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The two guys that stick out are Ronald Acuña Jr. and Austin Riley. They’ve terrorized Nola over their careers, and they’ll both get their opportunity to make some noise in the first inning. Acuña hasn’t done much in this series to this point, but he’s the MVP of the league, and the Braves will need him to play like it today if they want to avoid an elimination game tomorrow. Meanwhile, Riley is coming off arguably the biggest moment of his career, blasting the go-ahead two-run homer in Game 2. Hopefully, that momentum can carry over into Game 3.
A couple of guys who have really struggled with Nola throughout their careers are Eddie Rosario and Orlando Arcia. I still expect Rosario to get the start against the righty Nola because of his postseason pedigree, but I’m interested to see if Brian Snitker considers starting Nicky Lopez over Arcia in Game 3. Lopez has two hits in four at-bats against Nola, while Arcia is just 1-for-19 in his career.
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Photographer: Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire
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