ATLANTA — For the first time since winning the 2021 World Series, the Atlanta Braves have taken a postseason series, sweeping the Philadelphia Phillies with a 6-2 win in Thursday’s Game 3 of this National League Wild Card series.

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As for the Phillies, who fired manager Rob Thomson after a 9-19 start and still reached the postseason, questions loom over what will come in 2027.

Here are takeaways from Truist Park as the curtain falls on the Phillies’ season, while the Braves prepare for a National League Division Series against the two-time defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers.

Before Game 3, it was fair to ask whether the Braves’ lineup could handle the postseason. After all, they’re a streaky bunch that puts slugging above pure hitting ability. Also, their stars continued to come up short in big moments.

But then Thursday happened.

The Braves’ patient approach against Aaron Nola led to a big first inning, with Michael Harris II delivering a three-run home run. In the fifth inning, Ozzie Albies hit a home run off Zack Wheeler, who had previously dominated the second baseman in their shared history. Did Atlanta just beat up on a banged-up pitching staff? Perhaps. But it could also be a sign that the Braves turned a corner.

Maybe the comatose Phillies offense rendered all pitching decisions moot, but there will be second-guessing about the club’s decision to go with Nola over Zack Wheeler on short rest. Wheeler still entered the game in the third inning … with the Phillies trailing by three runs. Nola recorded five fewer outs than Atlanta’s opener. He surrendered his first three-run homer since April in the first inning, and that was pretty much the game.

For Nola, it’s a brutal ending to what was a remarkable second half that salvaged things. He volunteered to take the ball on two days’ rest in Game 161 when the Phillies had to go with a bullpen game in an attempt to clinch a postseason spot. That failed. It forced the Phillies to start Wheeler in Game 162 just to qualify.

Maybe this series unfolds differently if Wheeler were ready for Game 1 with Jesús Luzardo behind him as a high-leverage reliever. Maybe not.

Interim manager Don Mattingly said the team felt Nola had to be a part of the plan to record 27 outs in Game 3. Nola was on normal rest. Rather than disrupt his routine, the Phillies thought it best to start Nola and go from there. It didn’t work. The Phillies ran out of trusted arms; even Wheeler did not look sharp on short rest and hit a wall at 60 pitches.

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The back-to-back solo home runs by Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper to tie Game 2 could not have come at a better time. Alec Bohm won that game with an extra-inning solo homer. But the Phillies did not homer in Game 1 or Game 3. It was a continuation of an alarming trend that emerged in September.

They hit a mere 17 home runs in 24 regular-season September games, and no team in the majors had fewer. It was a glaring trend for a team built to slug. Of those 17 home runs, only four came with men on base.

Now, as they sort through the wreckage of another lost season, it’s difficult to ignore the postseason power outage that has spanned several seasons. The Phillies have not homered in seven of their last nine postseason games. They are 2-7 in those games. They have won only one of their last 13 postseason games when they do not homer.

Up until September, the Phillies ranked 11th in the majors in home runs. It was something that fueled them for much of the season. But Schwarber will be 34 next year. So will Harper. The team experienced a 36-point drop in slugging percentage from 2025 to 2026. They must search for more power in the offseason.

The Braves have just two playoff starters: Chris Sale and Tyler Mahle. So they need to get creative, which means possibly using openers.

On Thursday, lefty Ray Kerr proved to be the right choice. Against a power-heavy lineup featuring two of the best lefty bats in the game, the Braves’ plan worked. Kerr’s 3 1/3 scoreless innings prevented the top of the order from seeing bulk option Grant Holmes twice. The opener strategy got so crazy that Sale ended up covering the final two innings.

Atlanta needs it to keep working, even if it’s not Kerr. Left-hander Brent Suter or right-hander Victor Mederos are candidates, too. It’s possible that in Game 1 of the NLDS, the Braves will need to throw another bullpen game with Holmes, Mahle and Sale on short rest.

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