If ever there was a comparitive facet of the game that the Phillies seemed to have a big advantage over the Mets for the National League Division Series, it was the bullpen.
So much for pre-series breakdowns.
Over the first two games, in which the Phillies received a superlative effort in Game 1 by starter Zack Wheeler and a very solid, five-inning outing by Game 2 starter Cristopher Sanchez, there’s a reason the Mets have averaged six runs per game. Yes, that bullpen.
“They’ve been so good all year,” said Aaron Nola, who will start Game 3 of the best-of-five series Tuesday night at Citi Field. “Every time I come out of a game or any of the guys come out of a game, we feel confident with those guys coming in and shutting the door. Sometimes there are slip-ups. It happens. We’re all humans.”
Despite starting with a pair of games at Citizens Bank Park, the Phillies are mighty lucky to be tied with the Mets at a game apiece. That came about because Bryce Harper has been a bit superhuman in this series, and Nick Castellanos and Bryson Stott had some memorable moments at the plate in Sunday’s 7-6 victory.
It was Castellanos whose ninth-inning single with two outs and two strikes brought home Trea Turner with the winning run, which for now counts as a series saver.
But the fact remains that with the exception of a too-brief appearance by closer Carlos Estevez, the Phillies’ bullpen has performed well-below par … to put it kindly.
Following a 111-pitch, one-hit, no-run marvel by Wheeler over seven innings Saturday, the bullpen blew up in the Mets’ eighth inning.
Jeff Hoffman came in and couldn’t get an out, allowing two hits and a walk, allowing the Mets to tie the game in the process. He was quickly backed up by fellow All-Star reliever Matt Strahm, who at least got an out, but also allowed two hits and his out was a sacrifice fly, which accounted for two more runs tacked onto Hoffman’s charges.
Then Orion Kerkering got the call, and he gave up a single and sac fly, tacking a couple of runs onto Strahm’s record amid what became a five-run Mets’ eighth that decided the Game 1 issue.
Come Game 2, Sanchez went five innings, allowing only a two-run homer to Mark Vientos to blot his pitching line. He gave way to Jose Ruiz in the sixth, and he promptly was slapped for a solo homer by the first batter he faced, Pete Alonso. Then the roller coaster came to town.
Homers by Harper and Castellanos tied it up in the bottom of the sixth. But Kerkering was sent out in the seventh and the Mets grabbed the lead back on a home run by Brandon Nimmo. The by now desperate Phils didn’t stop, though, as a triple by Stott brought home Harper and Castellanos, and an infield hit by J.T. Realmuto plated Stott.
For some reason, Rob Thomson opted for closer Estevez to pitch the eighth, and the Mets went 1-2-3 over just eight pitches. He wasn’t trusted to go back out for another inning’s work.
“Because he hasn’t done that in a long time,” Thomson said Monday. “That’s really what it came down to. He did his job and I felt really good about Strahm, even though he had a little bit of a struggle the night before.”
So in the ninth, with the Mets down 6-4 and Estevez not taxed, Thomson opted for Strahm to finish up … and he couldn’t.
Vientos’ second homer of the night tied the game at 6-all. At least Hoffman came in and got an out to get the Phillies to the bottom of the ninth. And that’s when the offense would officially bail out the bullpen in Game 2.
But what now? The Phillies suddenly seem to have a problem with Strahm, Hoffman and Kerkering, three of their most solid relievers on the season.
Or do they?
“I think like hitting (and) your starting rotation, your bullpen is contagious one way or the other,” Thomson said. “We just have to snap out of this thing and start executing pitches and hitting our spots. And like I said, they will. I have full confidence in them.”
Thomson said after Game 2 that former closer and solid set-up guy Jose Alvarado was available to pitch Sunday, and said he was next in line as the lefty after Strahm. But the hard-throwing Alvarado stayed in the bullpen.
“It just didn’t work out,” Thomson said.
Maybe the best bullpen option for the Phillies is to have Nola tear through a tough Mets lineup similar to the way Wheeler did on Saturday night. Of course, that’s a tough challenge.
“I feel confident, for sure,” Nola said.
But how much confidence can be had with the way the bullpen has performed over the first two games?
“They’ve been really good all year for us,” Nola added. “They’re going to come in and do the best they can and do what they’ve done all year.”
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Nola said he was “fine” with the decision to start Sanchez at home in Game 2 ahead of him. As for starting Game 3 at Citi Field, which Nola described as “a beautiful ballpark,” he said he’s only eager to do so.
“Whatever I can do to try to contribute and try to put the team in the best chance to win in a playoff game, whether it’s home or road, I was fine with,” Nola said. “This is a pretty cool place to play; pretty cool place to pitch. … So definitely looking forward to it.”
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NOTES >> Thomson said Ranger Suarez would start Game 4 Wednesday regardless of the outcome of Game 3. Ditto veteran Jose Quintana for the Mets. … Thomson said struggling Alec Bohm will be back starting at third base in Game 3 after not starting there on Sunday.
