The Philadelphia Phillies are facing a critical moment in the National League Division Series after dropping the first two games to the Los Angeles Dodgers. The series now shifts to Dodger Stadium for Game 3, with the Phillies one loss away from elimination and possible offseason changes.
“Does it suck we didn’t get a win here? Absolutely. But now we have to go out there, we have to focus on one game at a time. There’s no looking ahead, right? Make that flight back home into Philly — because we’re going to be coming back at some point — make it worth something,” said Kyle Schwarber following Monday’s 4-3 defeat.
The top of the Phillies’ lineup has struggled, with Trea Turner, Schwarber, and Bryce Harper combining for just two hits in 21 at-bats and striking out 11 times. Harper noted he has missed several good pitches to hit but remains optimistic about his performance. “All in all, not where I want to be obviously in the results, but feeling good,” Harper said Tuesday.
During the regular season, the Phillies were among baseball’s best against pitches over the heart of the plate. In this series, however, they are batting .148 against such pitches—the lowest mark among postseason teams—while teams overall are hitting .303 in those situations.
Questions also surround pitching decisions. Ranger Suárez, who finished tied for 11th in Major League Baseball with 4.0 fWAR this season, has yet to pitch in the series. Manager Rob Thomson announced Aaron Nola will start Game 3 instead of Suárez.
“You’re going to see Ranger tomorrow,” Thomson stated. “I would be shocked if you don’t see Ranger tomorrow.”
Thomson explained that Nola is starting because he has never pitched out of the bullpen before and pointed to Nola’s recent strong performance as justification: “Well, you know, Nola’s last couple of starts — his last start was phenomenal, that’s the Nola we’ve seen. So I’m banking that we’re going to get that.”
A controversial decision came late in Game 2 when Bryson Stott was asked to bunt with a runner on second and no outs—a rare move both during this season and postseason history. Thomson defended his choice: “I just think they made a great play. Mookie Betts did a heck of a job by breaking very late so the hitter can’t adjust to the slash. And it’s tough for Nick [Castellanos] to get a proper secondary or bigger secondary because Betts is sitting right behind him. At the end of the day, they made an aggressive play and they made it work. It was a good play.”
Roster construction has also been scrutinized as injuries affect player availability. The Phillies carried 12 pitchers for this best-of-five series but have used only seven through two games; more could appear in Game 3 if needed due to possible extra innings or matchups.
Harrison Bader’s hamstring injury has limited his role primarily to pinch-hitting duties for now and forced Weston Wilson into pinch-running duties during Game 2’s ninth inning.
With their backs against the wall, Philadelphia will look for answers as they try to extend their postseason run.
