The Phillies NLCS Game 4 Starter

The Philadelphia Phillies NLCS Game 4 starter has been decided by manager Rob Thomson. The decision was between Taijuan Walker and Cristopher Sanchez. Thomson has elected to go with Sanchez. Neither pitcher has pitched during this postseason so far. The Phillies opponent, the Arizona Diamondbacks is going with a bullpen game for Game 4. Thomson may be using Sanchez as an opener with Walker coming in as a relief pitcher at some point. This decision was in part dependent on the outcome of Game 3. Many believe that Walker would have started if the Phillies had won Game 3 because of the potential clinch involved in that scenario.

Who The Phillies NLCS Game 4 Starter Should Be

The most likely outcome for Game 4 is that Walker or Sanchez pitch the first six innings. At that point, Thomson would give the ball to the Phillies high-leverage relievers as needed. Depending on the circumstances, the duo might be done earlier or later in the game. Regardless, this game will be where the Phillies try to piece together pitching. The Phillies have already done similar things in some of the starts made by Ranger Suárez this postseason. Also, expect to see both Walker and Sanchez pitch in Game 4, even though Sanchez is starting. 

The Case For Each Being The Phillies Game 4 Starter

Of the two options, Walker has more experience as a starter. So far during his career, Walker has made four relief appearances compared to 194 starts. This season, in 31 starts, Walker had a 15-6 record with a 4.38 ERA, a 1.31 WHIP, and 138 strikeouts. During his last seven regular season starts, Walker had a 2-1 record with a 5.49 ERA, a 1.41 WHIP, and 32 strikeouts. There is one primary concern with starting Walker which may be why Thomson opted against it. During the regular season, Walker had a 7.04 ERA in the first inning. In addition, opposing hitters batted .310 against Walker in the first inning. Comparatively, in the second inning this season, Walker had a 3.90 ERA with a .206 batting average against. This would be why Thomson would have Sanchez pitch the first inning and then have Walker come in for the second inning. This might be the plan with Sanchez starting the game. 

Meanwhile, Sanchez has made a good case for him to start. In 19 appearances this season, 18 of which were starts, Sanchez had a 3-5 record with a 3.44 ERA, a 1.05 WHIP, and 96 strikeouts. During his last seven regular-season appearances, Sanchez recorded a 2-2 record with a 3.60 ERA, a 1.09 WHIP, and 38 strikeouts. During his career, Sanchez made 41 appearances. Of those, 22 of them were starts. Given this, it would have made more sense to select Walker to start, and have Sanchez come on in relief when it is time to pull Walker from the game.

Conversely, Sanchez performed better than Walker in the first inning during the regular season. Sanchez had a 3.00 ERA with a .239 batting average against. In the second inning this season, Sanchez had a 4.00 ERA with a .225 batting average against for comparison.

The Flawed Decision

Thomson electing to start Sanchez over Walker is not the right move. Even with Walker’s struggles in the first inning, experience wins. Walker has pitched in the postseason before, as well. With this Thomson is taking a chance with Sanchez who has had a really good season all things considered. Having Walker pitch out of the bullpen for the first time since 2021 and the fifth time in his career between the regular season and postseason could work if done right. The preparation process is very different for a pitcher when they are starting compared to when they are coming out of the bullpen. Accordingly, Sanchez is more accustomed to coming out of the bullpen and does not have playoff experience making it a risk to start him. Ideally, Walker and Sanchez go the first five or six innings before handing it off to the Phillies excellent bullpen to complete the game.