If there was any hope left for the 2025 Philadelphia Phillies, now would be the time to express it. The team that won 96 games during the 2025 season is now on the brink of elimination in the NLDS for the second consecutive postseason (subscription required). It's been a disappointing couple of losses at home to say the least. Now the Phillies will have to win back-to-back games on the road to have a chance to play at least one more time in front of their home crowd.
To the Phillies' credit, they're not dead yet. They still have a chance to come back, but time is running out. There's no more margin for error, and players like shortstop Trea Turner know that it's all or nothing from now on, per MLB.com's Todd Zolecki.
“We’ve got nothing to lose now,” Turner said after Game 2, per Zolecki. “It’s not over. As much as people like to say that it’s not over, we’re not going to quit until they tell us to go home. We’ve got a great team. We’ve won three games in a row before. We’ve swept good teams. We’ve played good baseball. We’ve got to find that. We’ve got to find it quick.”
Phillies can still come back to force Game 4 and 5 in NLDS
The good news is there's a path to success for them, even heading out west. The Phillies pride themselves on their home-field advantage, but that luck has run out after losing five of their last six games at Citizens Bank Park. Even though it can be intimidating going into Dodger Stadium facing elimination, the Phillies have a 4-2 record over the last two seasons there.
They also need to rely on the roster that has gotten them this far. It won't be easy. According to Bob Nightengale, only two teams have overcome an 0-2 deficit in NLDS history. Funny enough, both teams that did won the World Series that year.
How important is it for the Phillies to win Game 2 tonight against the Dodgers at Citizens Bank Park?
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) October 6, 2025
Only two teams have ever come back from an 0-2 deficit in NLDS history:
2012 San Francisco Giants over the Cincinnati Reds
1981: Los Angeles Dodgers over the Houston Astros.
The middle and bottom of the order for the Phillies has come through for them over the first two games. The biggest hits in the series have come from guys like J.T. Realmuto, Nick Castellanos and Max Kepler.
It has been the top three that have failed them so far, going a combined 2-for-21 with 11 strikeouts. Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper are just too good to continue playing this badly. They've shown an ability to turn it around and could easily find that switch on Wednesday.
There's also the X-factor of Ranger Suárez, who hasn't appeared yet this series. Granted, Phillies manager Rob Thomson announced that he would be piggybacking with Aaron Nola in Game 3, but his ability to come out of the bullpen later in the series makes him a great option. What also makes Suárez a name to call on is his astounding 1.43 career postseason ERA over 37 2/3 innings.
They also have Jhoan Duran at the backend of the bullpen to close things out with his 2.06 ERA over 72 games this season between the Twins and Phillies.
What if the Phillies do win Game 3? New ace Cristopher Sánchez would get the ball in Game 4, then who knows what after that. It's not an impossibility to take back the series, and the Phillies' stars are handling it that way. It's not over until it's over, and the Phillies do have a path that can conceivably drive them to Game 5.