October teams do two things at once: win now and line up tomorrow. The Phillies just spent a week checking both boxes, and now they’ve flown into the Sonoran oven with a rotation plan that looks less like a schedule and more like a bracket.
Start with the headline move: Cristopher Sánchez gets pushed to Tuesday in South Philly, six days’ rest, which also puts him on the perfect runway for Game 1 of the NLDS if the bye falls their way. That’s not caution. That’s choreography.
Which leaves Friday night at Chase Field to Taijuan Walker … and Walker Buehler. Yes, that’s a piggyback. Yes, that’s the same Walker Buehler you’re thinking of, now a multI-inning wild card who could open some October doors the Phillies didn’t even have last week. Rob Thomson didn’t hide it: “It’ll be a Walker-Buehler piggyback.” Translation: Mix and match now; make a problem for managers later.
Across the diamond, Arizona is doing the opposite of mixing and matching. Torey Lovullo has stripped his rotation down to four and hit the gas for the last nine games: Ryne Nelson tonight, then Zac Gallen, Eduardo RodrÃguez, Brandon Pfaadt, off day Monday, then do it again. They want their best four throwing on real rest into a closing stretch that includes the Dodgers and Padres. Sprint shoes on. Water breaks optional.
Arizona enters Friday trailing the Mets by two games for the final Wild Card spot.
Both clubs arrive hot enough to melt a cactus. The Phillies are 30–15 since the deadline, best in baseball, with six straight series wins—most of that without Zack Wheeler and while Trea Turner has been rehabbing a hamstring. Turner’s days are trending from “good” to “could be back before the bell,” which would be quite a thing for a man leading the league in average and hits. Meanwhile, Kyle Schwarber has basically played every day and hit like he’s trying to out-slug the calendar (53 homers, 128 RBIs) because of course he has.
Arizona’s hardly backing into anything. The D-backs are 26–18 since the deadline, winners of seven of their last nine series, even after wasting nine scoreless from Pfaadt the other night.
As for the opener: Walker has been maddeningly consistent in one specific way—four runs allowed in each of his last four starts. There’s history here, too: he wore Sedona Red from 2017–19, and he’s had exactly one shot at his old club since, a 5–4 loss last year. The guy facing him has been trending the other direction. Ryne Nelson’s last five turns are all quality starts with a 2.40 ERA, and Bryce Harper’s the one Phillie who’s really solved him (4-for-9 with a homer).
The rest of the chessboard is set: Aaron Nola on Saturday, Ranger Suárez on Sunday. Then Sánchez on Tuesday against the Marlins at Citizens Bank Park, lining up a final tune-up in the Sept. 28 finale against the Twins if the bracket breaks right. And if you’re wondering about the piggyback going forward, file this away for your October bingo card: the Phillies could flip it next time—Buehler first, Walker behind. In a month when bullpens win series and extra innings chew through rosters, having two multi-inning right-handers who can toggle roles is the kind of roster math that keeps a manager’s pulse steady.
So that’s the series: Arizona pushing the throttle with four starters on full rest, the Phillies treating September like a rehearsal for a longer run. The D-backs want to make the wild card chase a track meet. The Phillies are content to make it a symphony—different sections, same song, and the conductor already waving toward October.
Pitching Matchups
Friday: RHP Taijuan Walker (5-8, 4.17) vs. RHP Ryne Nelson (7-3, 3.34)
Saturday: RHP Aaron Nola (4-9, 6.44) vs. RHP Zac Gallen (12-14, 4.73)
Sunday: LHP Ranger Suarez (12-6, 2.84) vs. LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (8-8, 5.12)
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