PHILADELPHIA -- Veteran right-hander Noah Syndergaard will take the mound for Game 4 of the National League Division Series on Saturday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park with a chance to send the Phillies to the NL Championship Series for the first time since 2010.

Syndergaard, who tossed a scoreless eighth inning in relief in Philadelphia's Game 2 loss, gets the call against Atlanta with the Phils holding a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series. The Braves will counter with fellow veteran righty Charlie Morton.

Syndergaard got the nod for the Phillies over left-hander Bailey Falter, who had his toughest start of the season on Sept. 24 against the Braves, and righty Kyle Gibson, who had a 9.73 ERA over his final six regular-season starts.

Falter was arguably Philadelphia's most consistent starter for a stretch this season, steadying the rotation during Zack Wheeler's month-long stint on the injured list -- and taking Syndergaard’s starting spot in the process. But Falter’s one hiccup down the stretch came in that outing against Atlanta, which has thrived against left-handed pitching this season.

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Falter was tagged for six runs and 10 hits (both career highs) in 3 2/3 innings in that outing against the Braves at Citizens Bank Park. He allowed an average exit velocity of 94.5 mph on the 14 balls in play, per Statcast, his highest in any career start. And while that was unusual for Falter, it was nothing new for an Atlanta team that led the Majors with an 89.9 mph average exit velocity against southpaws this season. The Braves also ranked second against lefties with a .338 on-base percentage and third with a .444 slugging percentage.

That’s not to say Falter won’t see the mound Saturday. It's unclear how deep Syndergaard will be able to go, considering he’s made only one start over the past month.

After being usurped in the rotation by Falter upon Wheeler’s return from the IL on Sept. 21, Syndergaard’s only start came in Game 2 of an Oct. 1 doubleheader against the Nationals. He threw 78 pitches over 5 2/3 scoreless innings.

So how much will the Phillies ask out of Syndergaard in Game 4?

“We’ll see,” manager Rob Thomson said.

It’s possible Syndergaard will only be asked to go one time through the order before handing the ball to either Falter or Gibson as a bridge to the late-inning relievers. Depending on how that goes, though, perhaps Thomson might try to get four or five innings out of Syndergaard. Either way, the good news for the Phillies is all of their high-leverage bullpen options will be available thanks to their 9-1 rout in Game 3.

After clinching a postseason berth in Houston and celebrating an NL Wild Card Series win in St. Louis, Philadelphia is hoping Syndergaard can help kick off its first clinch celebration at home since beating the Dodgers in Game 5 of the 2009 NLCS.

“We have an opportunity to clinch [Saturday],” designated hitter Bryce Harper said. “We're excited about that opportunity. We can't wait. Excited to be back home in front of this fan base. Like I said, we want to be able to do this for the next two weeks.”