3 takeaways from Phillies Wild Card Game 1 victory over the Marlins
What did we learn from the Phillies' 4-1 win in Game 1 of the NL Wild Card Series?
Nine months after falling short in the World Series, the Philadelphia Phillies started their 2023 postseason off on the right foot with a convincing 4-1 victory over the visiting Miami Marlins in Game 1 of their best-of-three Wild Card Series.
It felt just like last year's postseason run. The home crowd was electric and relentless, while the players turned the intensity up a notch, or two ... or three.
Citizens Bank Park was jumping early, with the injured Rhys Hoskins working the crowd into a frenzy when he came out to throw out the surprise ceremonial first pitch. From there, the game went pretty much as scripted for manager Rob Thomson and his ball club despite some late pressure from the Marlins.
So, what can we takeaway from the first game of 2023 playoff baseball in Philadelphia?
Zack Wheeler is the postseason ace the Phillies need
After a largely successful 2022 postseason, capped off by disappointing results against Houston in the World Series, Zack Wheeler came into this playoff run as the unquestioned ace of the Phillies' rotation after a phenomenal regular season. He finished the year with a 13-6 record, a 3.61 ERA and logged 212 strikeouts in 192 innings. His importance to the Phillies' success is evident when you notice his 5.9 fWAR.
To have a chance in October, teams need their ace to pitch like an ace, even under the bright lights and pressure of postseason baseball. That's exactly what Wheeler delivered in Game 1. He was locked in and dominant for most of his outing, going 6 2/3 innings and striking out eight while allowing a single run on five hits.
The velocity on his four-seamer was up, maxing out at 98.6 mph, while his sweeper was deadly, generating eight of his 18 whiffs on the night. Add in his called strikes and finished with a 35 percent CSW% against Marlins hitters who looked lost for most of the game.
Zack Wheeler, 97mph Fastball and 84mph Sweeper, Overlay pic.twitter.com/XmLE6RsnLA
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) October 4, 2023
Thomson summed Wheeler's game up perfectly during an in-between inning interview early in the game, describing him as "really efficient, really good."
The righty used only 46 pitches through the first four innings and ended up throwing an even 100 after an extended seventh inning that led to his departure from the game.
More importantly, he outdueled Miami's starter Jesús Luzardo, who struggled with his pitch count against the aggressive Philly bats. Luzardo lasted only four messy innings, using 90 pitches and only throwing 54 strikes.
While Wheeler won't throw again in this series, his team will need him to show up with a similar performance if and when they move on to face the Atlanta Braves in the NLDS.
NEXT: Lineup depth comes through big in Game 1
The bottom of the order shows its depth
While so much attention was paid to the Phillies' big-name superstars coming into the postseason, the lineup showed its depth with contributions from up and down the order. Every starter in the Philadelphia lineup got at least one hit in the seemingly constant offensive onslaught.
But it wasn't the bats you'd expect that did the damage. Yes, Kyle Schwarber, Trea Turner and Bryce Harper all had their moments, combining for four of the team's 11 hits. Turner got on base three times and swiped a pair of bags to stay perfect on the year, and Harper scored the big fourth run blowing through the stop sign at third. It wasn't the household names at the top of the order that got the job done as those three didn't register a single RBI.
Batting sixth, Nick Castellanos drove in a run, as did Bryson Stott and Cristian Pache. The only batter in the top half of the lineup to push one across the plate was Alec Bohm in the three-hole. His clutch two-out double in the bottom of the third that opened the scoring was only made possible by the impressive postseason debut at-bat of rookie Johan Rojas.
Alec Bohm is CLUTCH. pic.twitter.com/03H5kpMZlL
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) October 4, 2023
The 23-year-old rookie, who has all of 59 regular season MLB games under his belt, went toe-to-toe with Luzardo in an epic nine-pitch at-bat, which included four straight foul balls before collecting a base hit. To add to his impressive performance, he moved up to second on a ball in the dirt and scored easily on Bohm's double.
Then there's Pache, inserted into the lineup by his manager for his right-handed bat. Heading into last night, Pache was 2-for-4 against the left-handed Luzardo. The move paid off. He came up big in his limited opportunities, cashing the 3-0 run in the fourth and finishing the night 1-for-2.
One of the more surprising statistical oddities from Tuesday's win is that none of the Phillies' 11 hits included a home run. Shocking for a team like the Phillies, who hit 220 long balls on the year and racked up the most homers over the last two months of the season with 107.
While hitting timely home runs in the playoffs is a proven way to find success, as this team showed last postseason, they found a way to win last night by keeping the line moving up and down the order and coming through with clutch hits when it mattered.
Even so, eventually the big boys will have to come through with a big hit at a big time, but for now, it's encouraging to see contributions from every spot in the lineup.
NEXT: The Marlins' best hitter is far from healthy
Luis Arraez is far from healthy and the Phillies need to take advantage
Leading up to the Wild Card Series, there were questions about whether Luis Arraez would be healthy enough to be on the roster and in the lineup. After suffering a left ankle injury late in the season, the Marlins' leadoff hitter had only one at-bat after Sept. 23.
It was clear from the outset that Arraez wasn't right. In the top of the first, he hobbled out of the box on a liner caught by Pache in left field. He didn't find much better results in his next two at-bats, as he limped down the line on easy ground ball outs.
When he finally found some space with a bloop single to left-center in the eighth inning, the Marlins left him in to run despite his obvious lack of speed — a curious move in a two-run game.
Losing a player of Arraez's caliber is a big blow to the Marlins, who came into the series as underdogs. The 2022 AL batting title winner made a big impression in his first season in Miami, winning the NL batting title with a .354 average. He helped lead a resurgent Marlins squad that finished with the fourth-highest batting team batting average in the majors at .259.
The Phillies can surely take advantage of a physically limited Arraez, who, even injured, showed he can still put the bat on the ball. The question is, how effective can he be if he's unable to run out ground balls or run the bases if he does get aboard?
The Marlins offense is seemingly built in Arraez's image. Sure, they have some guys who can drive the ball and put it over the fence, like Jorge Soler, who parked 36 home runs this season, but their offense relies on hits, and lots of them.
They finished the season with the sixth-most hits with 1,427 and led baseball with 979 singles. However, they also ranked 26th with 668 runs scored and ended up in the bottom third of the league with 166 home runs and a .405 slugging percentage, the 11th-lowest mark.
Without the virtually unstoppable-when-healthy Arraez setting the table each time through the order, the Marlins will find it hard to generate a potent enough offense and will struggle to score runs to overcome the Philly bats.