Why the Braves chose Ray Kerr to open the Phillies playoff decider

The Atlanta Braves announced on October 1 that Ray Kerr would open their deciding National League Wild Card Series game against the Philadelphia Phillies in Atlanta. The left-handed reliever was chosen for a short opening assignment, with Grant Holmes expected to follow and handle more innings in a game that would end one team’s season.

The announcement was just seven words: “LHP Ray Kerr will start tonight’s game,” the Braves wrote in a post reproduced by Heavy. For Kerr, 32, the assignment was billed as his first career postseason appearance, after Tommy John surgery in 2024 and a full season without pitching in 2025.

After Philadelphia’s 4–3 win in 10 innings forced Game 3 on September 30, the new development was Atlanta’s pitching choice for the decider. The Braves were turning first to Kerr, whose nine regular-season appearances included just one opening start.

What Ray Kerr’s opener role meant

An opener is usually a reliever selected to face the top of an opponent’s batting order before handing over to a pitcher who takes on most of the subsequent innings. MLB’s glossary describes it as a way to match the first pitcher specifically against the opposing lineup’s first three hitters.

Atlanta had rehearsed the pairing on September 25 in Miami. According to the ESPN report carried by 6abc, Kerr threw three scoreless innings as the opener, then Holmes allowed one run over four innings. That established a recent precedent for using the two pitchers together.

Why Schwarber and Harper mattered to the choice

Braves manager Walt Weiss explained the general thinking in MLB.com’s report: “When you use an opener, it's always matchup-oriented.” He added that it required “the right matchups, the right personnel” and said Kerr was throwing well for Atlanta.

Heavy’s Billy Heyen identified Philadelphia’s left-handed sluggers Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper as the likely reason for choosing Kerr. MLB.com likewise described getting through those hitters in the first inning as Kerr’s assignment. Weiss’s quoted remarks established the matchup principle without specifically naming that pair.

The historical numbers help explain that analysis. Heavy reported that left-handed hitters had batted .196 against Kerr across his major-league career, with a .601 OPS. Right-handed hitters had an .856 OPS against him. Those were career splits, rather than a forecast for the deciding game.

The more recent sample was smaller: MLB.com reported that left-handed hitters went 4-for-23 against Kerr during the regular season, with one double as their only extra-base hit. His September 13 outing against Philadelphia included a Schwarber double play and a Harper double; Harper was left stranded.

Who is Ray Kerr? His route back to Atlanta

Kerr finished the regular season with a 1.47 ERA and 11 strikeouts in 18⅓ innings for Atlanta, according to Heavy. The ESPN report said the Braves recalled him on August 16 and he returned to a major-league game the following day, his first appearance at that level in more than two years.

His experience was limited even before accounting for the surgical layoff. Heavy counted 48 major-league appearances across parts of four seasons with San Diego and Atlanta before the decider. The postseason assignment followed a much longer route into professional baseball.

According to Heavy’s account, Kerr played high-school baseball in Reno, Nevada, and spent two years at Mendocino College in California. He then left baseball and worked at a movie theater and 7-Eleven back home.

A coach persuaded him to return to baseball at Lassen College. An opportunity in the Alaska Baseball League followed, where a fastball reaching 93 mph attracted scouting attention. Seattle signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2017; five years in the minors and a trade to San Diego preceded his major-league debut, Heavy reported.

How Holmes and the Braves bullpen fitted in

Holmes publicly played down uncertainty over when he would enter. “I’m going to go to bed like I do every single night,” he told MLB.com after Game 2, saying he would keep the same routine if named the starter.

There was also a workload issue behind him. MLB.com reported that Didier Fuentes, Dylan Lee and closer Raisel Iglesias would each be pitching for a third consecutive day if used in Game 3. Holmes’s assignment was to provide innings before the late-game relievers took over.

Philadelphia’s expected starter was veteran right-hander Aaron Nola. The ESPN report listed his regular-season record at 7–12 with a 4.67 ERA, setting out the opposing pitching plan for the winner-take-all game.

What the announced plan does—and does not—establish

The pregame reporting establishes Atlanta’s choice of Kerr, the matchup rationale and the intended handoff to Holmes. It does not establish Kerr’s completed pitching line, when Holmes actually entered or the final result. Assessing whether the strategy worked requires those game events; the selection itself explains only how Atlanta intended to approach the decider.