3 Phillies to blame for disastrous NLCS Game 4 loss
The Diamondbacks took advantage of mental and fundamental mistakes made by the Phillies.
After another punch to the face Friday, the Philadelphia Phillies head into Game 5 of the National League Championship Series against the Arizona Diamondbacks tied at 2-2.
It was another game to forget for the Phillies, who saw sloppy play in the field, on the basepaths and on the mound lead to another collapse late in the game against a team that has taken control of momentum in the series.
Down 2-0 in the top of the fourth inning, Philadelphia got a much-needed home run from Kyle Schwarber to kick up some dust after a lackluster Game 3. The Phillies carried that momentum through the next three innings, adding on in each frame to build a solid 5-2 lead to carry into the bottom of the seventh inning.
From there, things fell apart for the bullpen, which was again tasked with coming into a game early after starter Cristopher Sánchez was taken out after 2 1/3 innings. Ultimately, the Diamondbacks scored four runs across the seventh and eighth innings, pulling out a come-from-behind 6-5 victory.
Before the Phillies look ahead to Game 5 and attempt to fight to get back on top in the series, let's revisit Game 4's performances and see who stood out in the subpar showing for the team.
Gregory Soto
There was a theme with the second half of the bullpen Friday night — the inability to throw strikes. With the lead, the relievers needed to deliver strikes and get ahead of hitters.
With one out in the bottom of the seventh inning, the Phillies called on left-hander Gregory Soto, who had not pitched since Game 4 of the National League Division Series on Oct. 12.
The first batter he faced, shortstop Geraldo Perdomo, worked the count full before getting a single. Next up? Second baseman Ketel Marte saw another 3-2 count before seeing ball four and taking his free base. Outfielder Corbin Carroll offered at the second pitch he saw after being ahead 1-0 in the count, hitting into a fielder's choice and ending Soto's day. He only recorded one out.
After burning through four relievers the night before, the Phillies were trying to preserve bullpen arms as much as possible. Instead, Soto's lack of control forced the team to go back to the pen.
The way this game's shaping up, Phillies will likely have to use either Kimbrel or Kerkering, who both struggled yesterday, unless they break it open
— Corey Seidman (@CSeidmanNBCS) October 21, 2023
Soto warming up for 7th. You figure Alvarado gets either 8th or 9th. Will need someone else. Important sac fly by Turner.
First up was Orion Kerkering, who was pitching in back-to-back days for the first time in his career. He couldn't find the strike zone and eventually walked in Perdomo, a run charged to Soto.
Catcher J.T. Realmuto had a front-row seat to the pitching struggles yesterday. As relayed by Matt Gelb of The Athletic, Realmuto pointed to command being the driver behind the struggles: "I thought a lot of our pitchers looked sped up to me. That's what happens when you fall behind in counts and let base runners on."
With the bullpen being used heavily this postseason, the team needs to be able to rely on fresh arms to come in, throw strikes and record outs. Soto, along with others, fell short in Game 4.
Alec Bohm
In the bottom of the second inning, with the game scoreless, it didn't take long for things to go off the rails.
First baseman Christian Walker, the first batter to the plate, reached on a throwing error by third baseman Alec Bohm, kicking off a bit of a circus inning for the visiting team.
After Sánchez struck out right fielder Tommy Pham looking, left fielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. hit a ball right back to the mound, setting up an easy double play for the left-handed pitcher. Only, Sánchez forgot how many outs there were, leisurely strolling before tossing it to first for the out, letting Walker move to second.
Walker advanced to third on a passed ball by catcher J.T. Realmuto. After a walk to Evan Longoria, Emmanuel Rivera singled, putting the Diamondbacks on the scoreboard first.
Physical error by Bohm, mental error by Sanchez, physical error by JT and now the Phillies are down 1-0
— Tyrone Johnson (@TyJohnsonNews) October 21, 2023
While you can't blame Bohm for the mistakes by Sánchez and Realmuto in that second inning, it's fair to wonder if the game plan with Sánchez's pitch count would've been different had the Diamondbacks not scored in that inning.
Even when the third baseman got on base, he ran himself into outs. After reaching on an infield hit in the top of the sixth to ultimately drive in two, he was caught trying to stretch his luck and reach second base. At the time, there would’ve been two on, including Bryce Harper at third, and no outs. The Phillies left men on and ended up not scoring again in that inning instead of throwing a crooked number up against the Diamondbacks.
In the top of the eighth, Bohm again reached on a hit. With Nick Castellanos at the plate and two outs, he ran right toward third base on a ground ball without waiting, letting the defender tag him easily to get the Diamondbacks out of the inning.
While it was a positive to see Bohm go 2-for-4 at the plate, every out is crucial in the postseason, and the team will need him and everyone else in the lineup to clean up their baserunning and stop running into outs.
Craig Kimbrel
It's no surprise that the Phillies closer makes this list after back-to-back rough outings. In Game 4, his team handed him the 5-3 lead in the eighth inning, asking him to hold off the team that had hit him hard (on 25 pitches) the day before.
Things went about as expected.
He didn't even make it through the full inning. The right-hander threw 21 pitches, only getting 12 over for strikes.
Gurriel started the inning with a double. After Longoria lined out, Kimbrel ran the count full against pinch-hitter Alek Thomas. Thomas, who had only been hitting .160 in the postseason coming into the game, smoked a two-run home run into the pool, tying the game at 5-5.
Phillies manager Rob Thomson decided to leave the struggling Kimbrel in, leading to a strikeout, single and hit-by-pitch. Finally, Thomson pulled him from the game, bringing in the hard-throwing José Alvarado. While Alvarado allowed one run, it was charged to Kimbrel.
Craig Kimbrel is the first Phillies reliever to lose back to back games in the playoffs
— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) October 21, 2023
Mitch Williams lost back to back appearances in the 1993 World Series: Game 4 and Game 6 pic.twitter.com/3CAtiVDPJN
When speaking with reporters after the game, Thomson said the following when asked what he thinks went wrong with Kimbrel: "Just strike throwing ability and being able to command his pitches."
Thomson also acknowledged that going forward, he’d talk with pitching coach Caleb Cotham to see if they might move Kimbrel to more of a lower-leverage position.
The Phillies handed their closer a 5-3 lead and left with a 6-5 deficit. While this was a team loss, with lots of mental and fundamental errors sprinkled throughout, Kimbrel once again came up short in the biggest moment of the game.
As he said after the game, according to Corey Seidman of NBC Sports Philadelphia: "The last two games sucked. I rolled up in here and cost us two games."
The Phillies can't afford to continue to rely on tired bullpen arms to try to get themselves back to the World Series. Looking to move on from yet another winnable loss, the Phillies will try to escape Arizona with one win Saturday before taking things back to Philadelphia to play out the rest of the NLCS.