Phillies Assistant Says He Knew Daring Pitching Plan vs Dodgers Would Work

The Philadelphia Phillies kept their season alive on Wednesday night to have a chance to fight once again in Game 4 of the NLDS of the Los Angeles Dodgers to bring the series back home this weekend.

After two bitterly disappointing losses against the defending World Series champions at Citizens Bank Park, most chalked the series up as already over heading out West. But the bats finally coming alive backed up by a bold pitching plan gave the Phillies their first win of the postseason and a chance to bring it back home.

Manager Rob Thomson caught a ton of flak headed into the game after telling media Aaron Nola was going to start over Ranger Suárez despite the career campaign for Suárez and worst-ever for Nola. That strategy proved sound though and Philadelphia pitching coach Caleb Cotham said he knew it was the way to go.

Phillies Were Confident in Game 3 Pitching Strategy

Aaron Nola of Philadelphia Phillies throws pitch from right hand — Oct 8, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola (27) pitches during the first inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers during game three of the NLDS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Dodger Stadium. | Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

"Nola was getting better and better toward the end of the year," Cotham said via Matt Gelb of The Athletic (subscription required). "Ranger is Ranger. We kind of had that (setup) penciled in case the series got to where it’s at."

It was when he was asked how he knew it was the best way to go that should have fans back in Philadelphia confident that this team may have a tremendous chance of winning again on Thursday.

"Their buy-in, one,” Cotham said when asked how he knew it would work, "and I think their ability to put any sort of ego aside. They just want to pitch. Wherever, the opportunity is: ‘Just tell me where to go. Wherever the fight is, I’ll run to the fight.’ It’s basically how both of them took it. I love that, especially this time of year."

Phillies Now Have Potential Best Pitcher with Another Elimination Game

Cristopher Sánchez of Philadelphia Phillies throws pitch from left hand — Sep 28, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Cristopher Sánchez (61) throws a pitch during the second inning against the Minnesota Twins at Citizens Bank Park. | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

For as awesome as Wednesday night was, nobody will remember it if Philadelphia doesn't find a way to win on Thursday too. The good news here is that the Phillies have who might just be their best arm in Cristopher Sánchez slated to make the start and hopefully go very deep into the game.

Sánchez had an absolutely incredible season and was arguably the best pitcher in all of baseball, pitching to a 2.50 ERA and 1.064 WHIP over 32 starts with a big league leading 8.0 bWAR. He will go up against Tyler Glasnow for the Dodgers, who pitched to a 3.19 ERA over 18 starts for Los Angeles this season.

If Sánchez can out-duel his opponent and keep Los Angeles off the board deep into the night on Thursday, Philadelphia is going to have a very realistic shot at forcing a fifth game and making the Dodgers travel back across the country for a Saturday showdown.

And at that point, absolutely anything can happen. For a series that was complete doom and gloom when leaving after two home games, the Phillies have an incredible shot at bringing it right back there on Thursday night.