The Philadelphia Phillies lost Game 1 of the National League Division Series, 5-3, to the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers. In addition to losing the first game of the series, the Phillies also lost home-field advantage. In the short best-of-five series, the Phillies suddenly face a must-win Game 2.
The Phillies led 3-0 after five innings, and starter Cristopher Sanchez was throwing brilliantly. He got into his first problems in the sixth inning, and the Dodgers took advantage when Kiké Hernandez hit a two-run double. David Robertson, a veteran reliever, replaced him in the sixth and kept the Phillies’ one-run lead.
While the Phillies used their bullpen typically in the late innings, with relievers Robertson, Matt Strahm, Orion Kerkering, and Jhoan Duran, the Dodgers took a different approach.
After Shohei Ohtani’s six-inning performance, starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow collected five outs in his first relief appearance since 2018. In the eighth inning, reliever Alex Vesia got the final out, while rookie starting pitcher Roki Sasaki got the final three outs to help LA win. Before the game, Phillies manager Rob Thomson announced that left-handed pitcher Ranger Suarez would be available out of the bullpen in Game 1, with Jesus Luzardo starting Game 2 and Suarez likely starting Game 3.
However, he was not used since Robertson and Strahm blew the lead in the sixth and seventh innings.
Did Thomson consider deploying Suarez? He had a one-word answer to that question after the game. Here was the complete interaction: Reporter: “You witnessed what the Dodgers did with three starters today. Was there any consideration of going Ranger in the sixth or seventh inning?” Thomson says “No”.
Suarez is now scheduled to throw Game 3, but depending on how Philadelphia performs in Game 2, this may be an elimination game. Luzardo (15-7, 3.92 ERA) will take the mound against Blake Snell (5-4, 2.35 ERA). Snell pitched for the Dodgers in Wild Card Game 1, lasting seven innings and giving two earned runs while striking out nine.