Phillies Rolling With Surprising Choice For Game 4 Starter

The Philadelphia Phillies will have to regroup after being handed their second loss of the postseason in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series.

Losing in the playoffs itself isn't shocking considering these are the best teams remaining.

But the Phillies, who had been red hot hitting, were held to one run on three hits on Thursday.

Their offense will look to bounce back in a big way in Game 4 on Friday.

What has been going right for Philadelphia throughout this postseason run is the strength of their starting pitching.

They'll need that same type of performance in Game 4 if they want to take a commanding lead in the series.

According to Jeff Passan of ESPN, manager Rob Thomson has decided to go with left hander Christopher Sanchez.

This may come as a surprise to some out there because Taijuan Walker was brought in during free agency and was the third pitcher in the rotation throughout the regular season.

But Walker had a difficult close to the year while Sanchez played his best baseball.

The 26-year-old lefty had a 3.33 ERA in five starts during September. He also had two separate performances of striking out 10 batters.

One of the challenges will be how sharp Sanchez is since he last appeared in a game on Sept. 30.

More than likely, Thomson is hoping that Sanchez can go at least five innings before turning the keys over to the bullpen to close out the game.

The Arizona Diamondbacks seem to be taking a similar bullpen minded approach, going with Joe Mantiply as their starter.

Mantiply saw the Phillies in Game 2. He allowed three earned runs and only recorded on out during his relief appearance.