Phillies postseason rotation taking shape in final days of regular season

LOS ANGELES – Rob Thomson amused himself when he revealed his rotation plan for the weekend. 

Taijuan Walker will start Friday’s series opener against the Diamondbacks in Arizona. Walker Buehler, who made his first start with the Phillies on Sept. 12, will follow him out of the bullpen. 

“So it will be a Walker/Buehler,” Thomson said with a smile. He said he had been thinking about making that joke for weeks. 

Aaron Nola will start Saturday, with Ranger Suárez going Sunday. The Phillies wanted to line up projected Game 1 starter Cristopher Sánchez to pitch the first game of the final regular season homestand on Tuesday against the Miami Marlins. If the Phillies secure a bye to the Division Series, Sánchez could use the regular season finale against the Twins on Sept. 28 as a fina tune-up for October.  

The Phillies could go with the “Walker/Buehler” combo again the next time through the rotation, but reverse it with Buehler starting and Walker relieving. 

Both pitchers could be multi-inning relievers out of the bullpen in the postseason. The Phillies typically like to carry at least one pitcher that can throw multiple innings to protect themselves from running out of pitching in an extra innings marathon game. Whether the Phillies will carry both Walker and Buehler on the postseason roster remains to be seen. If the Phillies are intrigued with using either in leverage spots, there is certainly room for both. 

The Phillies are in a tough spot with Aaron Nola. He has not pitched well enough to be in consideration for a start during the NLDS. He has also never pitched out of the bullpen in his career, making him a likely Game 4 starter in a potential NLCS. 

He has two more starts left in the regular season to get back on track. 

“Being with Nola as long as I have, I have so much confidence in the way he’s going to step up in a big game,” Thomson said on Tuesday. 

As it stands right now, the three best starters in the Phillies rotation are all left-handed. Three starters are all that’s needed in the NLDS. Sánchez could pitch games one and four, with the Game 2 starter, either Ranger Suárez or Jesús Luzardo, returning for a potential winner-take-all Game 5. The extra off day in between Games 1 and 2 allows National League teams to shorten their Division Series rotation from four to three.

All three offer a different look. Sánchez will attack hitters with the sinker/changeup combo. Both Sánchez and Suárez will fool hitters inside, but Suárez relies more on command, sequencing and mixing pitches. Luzardo, like Sánchez, can live in the high 90s with his fastball. He is at his best when he is getting swing-and-miss on his sweeper down and away. 

But even without ace Zack Wheeler, the Phillies have a strong playoff rotation with the three lefties leading the way. 

“Super excited about what’s next for us,” Sánchez said.