The Philadelphia Phillies have clinched a postseason spot four years in a row, but have failed to go past the first round each year.
They were hopeful that trend would break this year, as they were back-to-back division champions and entered the postseason more hotter than they were the previous season.
Unfortunately, they are off to a horrible start when the Los Angeles Dodgers won Game 1 of the NLDS. They were believed to have a weaker bullpen, but it was the Phillies’ relievers who struggled.
Shohei Ohtani, the Dodgers’ starter, produced six innings of outstanding baseball, with the only blemish coming in the second inning with three runs.
On the other hand, Phillies starter Cristopher Sanchez allowed two runs in less than seven innings, but relief pitchers David Robertson and Matt Strahm blew the game right away.
Rob Thomson, Philadelphia’s manager, put Robertson in with one out in the sixth inning. Miraculously, he got out of it by throwing six pitches all out of the strike zone, with Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy’s terrible plate discipline saving him.
He walked and hit a batter in the following inning without recording an out, prompting Strahm to enter the game. He recorded two hard outs before giving up a three-run home run to outfielder Teoscar Hernandez.
The Phillies did not allow any more runs after that, but they also did not score, leaving Phillies fans enraged at Thomson.
“This might be the worst managed game by Rob Thomson all year,” a fan complained.
“Rob Thomson is an awful postseason manager,” added another.
“Yes, you can fire Rob Thomson: [I don’t care]. He intended to retire regardless. “Do him a favor,” said one more enraged fan.
When Thomson was given the job in the middle of the 2022 season, it seemed like every button he pushed was the correct one.
That all changed in the World Series that year, when he pulled Phillies ace Zack Wheeler from the game, and the team quickly lost its lead.
There is still time for Philadelphia to save the series, but they have forfeited home-field advantage in back-to-back seasons in what is supposed to be a tough venue to play in.
The crowd will be even angrier if the Phillies are unable to turn this series around and go on a run to win the World Series trophy.