Thursday playoff discussion thread

The Philadelphia Phillies face the Atlanta Braves in a deciding Wild Card matchup on Thursday, serving as the sole game on the MLB schedule. Three other series concluded in sweeps, with the Chicago White Sox eliminating the Houston Astros, the New York Yankees sweeping the Boston Red Sox 18-2 across two games, and the San Diego Padres defeating the Chicago Cubs 4-1.

Philadelphia leveled the series following a 4-3 extra-innings victory in Game 2, driven by a tenth-inning Alec Bohm home run. Aaron Nola starts for the Phillies against Atlanta's Ray Kerr, who enters his first career postseason start after recording a 1.47 ERA across 18 and 1/3 innings during the regular season.