Phillies’ Ranger Suárez to start Game 1 of the NLDS against the Braves

ATLANTA — Phillies left-hander Ranger Suárez will start game 1 of the National League Division Series against the Braves, manager Rob Thomson announced Friday. Spencer Strider will start for the Braves in the series opener at 6:07 p.m. Saturday at Truist Park.

Zack Wheeler will start Game 2 on Monday in Atlanta against left-hander Max Fried, and Aaron Nola will start Game 3 on Wednesday in Philadelphia.

Thomson conceded that the Phillies had a few options to start Game 1 — such as Cristopher Sánchez and Taijuan Walker — but Suárez was the clear favorite.

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“I think Ranger overall — he hadn’t pitched against Atlanta this year, but past numbers, they’re probably the best out of the group,” Thomson said. “We all know that the moment’s not going to be too big for Ranger. He’s a pretty cool cucumber out there. So we’re confident in that.”

Suarez, who has experience pitching out of the rotation and the bullpen, has yet to pitch this postseason. He had a 4.18 ERA in 22 starts this season. He made one start against the Braves, allowing one earned run over six innings in a 4-2 loss on June 20. He has a 3.86 ERA in two regular-season starts at Truist Park, and made one postseason start there in last year’s NLDS, in which he allowed one earned run on three hits in 3⅓ innings with five walks and five strikeouts.

He plans to draw from his overall postseason experience last year, when he had a 1.23 ERA in the Phillies’ run to the World Series.

“To me, the main thing is to avoid mistakes,” Suárez said. “The little things, we have to make sure we do the little things. That gets you places. You know, as long as you avoid little mistakes, then we’re going to be in good shape, because teams like these, they feed off of your mistakes. They wait for those mistakes to take advantage of them.”

Suárez hasn’t pitched in 10 days, but he has thrown a few bullpen sessions to stay fresh. He said his goal this postseason is to pitch deeper into his starts. In his five postseason outings last year, Suarez made three starts, and didn’t pitch more than five innings in any of them.

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“I’ve been working really hard on my control, trying to control the strike zone,” Suárez said. “I like getting ahead in the count early. So I can be more effective with my pitches, try to get out of the innings quick, doing as little work as possible, and that helps me go deep in the games.

“I mean, it’s no secret that the Braves are a really good team. They have really good hitters. They have possibly the National League MVP, too. To me, it’s just a matter of executing, doing the right things. I know it’s going to be a tough game, but I’m ready for a challenge.”

Thomson said Brandon Marsh will start in left field in Game 1. The left-handed-hitting Marsh didn’t start either of the Phillies’ wild-card games against the lefty-heavy Marlins, but should get more playing time this series against the righty-heavy Braves. ... Asked if there are any change from the wild-card roster to the NLDS roster, Thomson said “there is,” but declined to share specifics. The NLDS roster will be released by noon Saturday.