The Philadelphia Phillies kept their postseason alive on Wednesday night beating the Los Angeles Dodgers 8-2 at Dodger Stadium. The Phillies came into Wednesday night’s game down 0-2 to the Dodgers in the National League Division Series.
The NLDS is a best-of-five series so the pressure on the Phillies is sky high since every game is an elimination game for the team. The win on Wednesday leaves the Dodgers up 2-1.
Despite the Phillies’ win the team still isn’t playing clean baseball. While the box score reflects no errors for the Phillies, the team racked up many head scratchers. The outfield in particular delivered a few strange performances including a meandering Nick Castellanos path to a ball which led fans to hold their breath on what should have been a routine out, Brandon Marsh’s decision to dive for a ball which turned a Mookie Betts single into a triple, and seemingly a miscommunication between Trea Turner and Marsh which let a blooper drop in for a hit.
Similarly at the plate the Phillies didn’t take advantage of every opportunity they could have to blow the game wide open. The team left nine runners in scoring position including a particularly high-leverage moment in which the Phillies had the bases loaded in the top of the fifth. As Marsh came up to the plate and he accrued a pitch clock violation to start his at bat down 0-1 and he subsequently struck out on two pitches.
Despite those challenges, fans can start to feel more optimistic that the team may be heating up enough to get through Game 4 and back to Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies won thanks to some scrappy at bats to draw walks, multiple monster home runs, and strong performances by the bullpen.
3 positive things we learned about the Phillies in Game 3 vs Dodgers
1. The Phillies are resilient
After a rocky season for starter Aaron Nola, Phillies manager Rob Thomson remained confident in Nola and decided to start him in Game 3. Many fans had doubts about this strategy going into the start, especially after Betts hit a triple with one out in the first inning.
Phillies fans thought it was the end of the season, but Nola buckled down and got two strikeouts to end the inning. Similarly, Ranger Suárez came in at the top of the third and immediately gave up a home run to Tommy Edman. The Phillies got the next three outs and Kyle Schwarber responded to Edman’s home run with a monster 455 foot home run of his own.
Throughout the game, as the Phillies encountered challenging moments which they could have let swing the momentum toward the Dodgers, they did what was needed to stop the Los Angeles in their tracks.
2. The top of the Phillies' lineup returned to hitting
Turner, Schwarber, Bryce Harper and Alec Bohm combined for only three hits and six walks in the first two games of the NLDS. In Game 3 they collectively had nine hits, four walks, five RBIs and five runs scored while only registering one strikeout.
The standout offensive performance was by Schwarber who after hitting his monster home run in the fourth hit a second home run in the eighth. The significant uptick in the top of the order’s offensive performance was paired with some smart and aggressive base running from Harper, Turner and Bryson Stott.
3. The Phillies' bullpen is healthy and rested
After Game 2 some fans were concerned that Suárez might have been injured since Thomson decided not to bring him into the game despite having said he would do so in a high-leverage situation. Suárez’s performance in Game 3 put any of those concerns to rest as he pitched a dominant game, as he threw five solid innings, allowing just the home run to Edman while striking out four.
Suárez is known for his calm demeanor and ability to handle high-stress situations with grace. In a post-game interview J.T. Realmuto shared that during the tense sixth inning with only one out and Dodgers on first and second and the go-ahead run at the plate he went out to the mound to speak with Suárez who said confidently that the plan was “slider, double play, let’s go.” And that’s exactly what he did.
The Phillies’ 8-1 lead in the eighth enabled Thomson to bring in Orion Kerkering, Taijuan Walker and Tanner Banks to close the game which means that going into Game 4 Jhoan Duran is rested.