The Philadelphia Phillies have secured postseason berths in four straight seasons, but each time their playoff run has ended sooner than hoped, with eliminations coming in the earlier rounds.
The Phillies entered this postseason determined to reverse that trend, coming in as back-to-back division champions and carrying far more momentum than they had a year ago.
However, their playoff journey is already off to a rocky beginning after dropping Game 1 of the NLDS to the Los Angeles Dodgers. What was expected to be a bullpen disadvantage for L.A. instead turned into Philadelphia’s downfall, as their relievers struggled to hold the lead.
Dodgers ace Shohei Ohtani delivered a stellar performance on the mound, tossing six impressive innings and allowing just one blemish — a three-run second inning.
On the flip side, Phillies starter Cristopher Sánchez turned in a solid outing, allowing just two runs over nearly seven innings of work. But the bullpen couldn’t hold up its end, as relievers David Robertson and Matt Strahm quickly let the game slip away.
Manager Rob Thomson brought Robertson in with one out remaining in the sixth inning. Despite throwing six straight pitches out of the strike zone, Robertson escaped the jam thanks to some fortunate swings from Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy.
His luck ran out the following frame. Robertson issued a walk and hit a batter without recording an out, prompting Thomson to call on Strahm. After grinding out two tough outs, Strahm’s night unraveled when Teoscar Hernández crushed a three-run home run that silenced the once-deafening Citizens Bank Park crowd.
The Phillies managed to hold the Dodgers scoreless for the remainder of the game, but their offense went silent as well — a frustrating outcome that left fans furious with manager Rob Thomson’s decisions.
Social media was quickly flooded with criticism:
“This might be the worst-managed game by Rob Thomson all year,” one fan wrote.
“Rob Thomson is an awful postseason manager,” another added.
“Yeah, you can fire Rob Thomson. He wanted to retire anyway — do him a favor,” said a third, echoing the growing frustration in Philadelphia.
When Thomson first took over midway through the 2022 season, it seemed as though every move he made paid off. But that magic began to fade during the 2022 World Series, when his controversial decision to pull ace Zack Wheeler proved costly as the Phillies immediately lost their lead.
Now, the pressure is mounting once again. Though there’s still time for Philadelphia to recover in this series, they’ve once more squandered home-field advantage — something that’s supposed to be nearly impossible at Citizens Bank Park in October.
If the Phillies can’t regroup and make another deep postseason run, the discontent among the fanbase will only intensify, especially with championship expectations hanging over this team.