Game 1 of the NLDS against the Los Angeles Dodgers did not go according to plan for the Philadelphia Phillies.
After jumping out to an early 3-0 lead in the second inning, the Phillies' bullpen failed to maintain the advantage and ultimately, the team suffered a 5-3 loss. While the bullpen can take a share of the blame, the top of the lineup should also accept some accountability for the defeat.
The part of the batting order that should be setting the tone was deafeningly silent to start the NLDS. Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper went a combined 1-for-11 in Saturday's Game 1 loss to the Dodgers.
The lone hit from the top of the order came on a Harper single in the bottom of the eighth inning with Turner on first base and two outs. Other than that, the top trio struck out six times and essentially contributed nothing to the effort.
Shohei Ohtani, Vicious Splitters. 😤 pic.twitter.com/ZGY7cWEIb2
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) October 4, 2025
Top of the lineup will determine Phillies' postseason success
While the stars of the Phillies' lineup slacked, the lower half plated the only runs that the Dodgers' pitching staff would allow on a J.T. Realmuto triple and a Harrison Bader sacrifice fly off Shohei Ohtani. Bader was later removed from the contest due to a groin injury,
The top of the Dodgers' lineup wasn't particularly impressive either. Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Teoscar Hernández combined to go 1-for-13. However, Hernández hit a devastating three-run home run off Matt Strahm in the seventh inning that gave Los Angeles the lead.
The home team could not answer back, but there were some bright spots despite the loss.
The strength for the Phillies is their starting pitching. That has been a known factor for some time. Cristopher Sánchez looked solid once again as he struck out eight hitters over 5 2/3 innings of two-run baseball.
However, Saturday evening's offensive performance may have reignited some bad memories of the past two postseason exits for Phillies fans.
It's way too early in the series to determine which team will advance to the NLCS, yet if the big bats in the Phillies lineup do not get going, things could get bad really quickly.
The Phillies need Turner, Schwarber and Harper to start getting big hits. This is their time to shine and if that does not come to fruition, then neither do the postseason dreams that the fans, players, staff and ownership strive to accomplish.
The potential is there for any of the high-paid trio to start going off and becoming nightmares for opposing pitchers, but Saturday night's effort looked lackadaisical from the one, two, and three hitters.
With another game at Citizen's Bank Park on Monday, the series can be turned right back around. The Phillies just need to get the offense going, and the key component to that is getting the big bats hot.