Red October could be over before October begins — but Phillies are ‘confident' originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
ATLANTA — In a span of four days, the Phillies will have played twice with their season on the line.
On Sunday, they needed a win in Game 162 at Citizens Bank Park to secure their fifth consecutive postseason berth, despite having been within striking distance of clinching for nearly a week.
Now, after a crushing 5-3 loss to the Atlanta Braves in Game 1 of the National League Wild Card Series, they’ll face elimination again Wednesday afternoon at a ballpark that hasn’t been particularly friendly to them this year.
Their first visit to Truist Park came in April, when they were just days away from firing manager Rob Thomson following a series that extended their losing streak to 10 games.
The next time?
Earlier in September, when Jesús Luzardo was scratched from his scheduled start with shoulder stiffness. He eventually landed on the injured list, putting his postseason availability in question.
And now, on their third trip to Atlanta this season, the Phillies are one loss away from heading home for good.
Even the circumstances of Tuesday’s defeat were painfully familiar. For the third consecutive postseason, Philadelphia’s bullpen blew a late lead in Game 1, this time with Jhoan Duran surrendering a go-ahead, three-run homer to Austin Riley with two outs in the eighth inning.
There is one encouraging way to look at what comes next.
The Phillies are past Chris Sale, who struck out nine Tuesday. They’ll face Tyler Mahle in Game 2, a right-hander who allowed five earned runs in his final regular-season start against Cincinnati.
And they’ll have Cristopher Sánchez on the mound.
The left-handed ace went 18-7 with a 2.91 ERA across 33 starts this season. After the Phillies’ latest late-inning collapse, he’ll be asked to keep their season alive.
Sánchez hadn’t even left the dugout Tuesday before his teammates began looking ahead to what he might do Wednesday.
Kyle Schwarber noticed him standing near the top step after the loss, staring out at the mound where he’ll soon be pitching one of the biggest games of his career.
“Let’s go. You know what I mean? That’s our guy,” Schwarber said. “Get him out there and get him rolling. I saw him at the end of the game, and it just looked like he was staring out there at the mound.”
Schwarber wondered whether Sánchez was already picturing himself out there.
“Might be just a little, you know, foreshadowing, right? Just trying to get a little taste of what it will be like being out there tomorrow.”
J.T. Realmuto was equally enthusiastic about having Sánchez take the ball, identifying a quality that has become particularly noticeable as the left-hander has developed into one of the Phillies’ most dependable starters.
“His confidence gives everybody in this room confidence,” Realmuto said. “He’s been that guy for us for a long time. When he takes the ball, we have a lot of confidence, and his demeanor on the mound is something that’s easy to get behind.”
Sánchez isn’t interested in treating the assignment any differently.
Speaking before Tuesday’s opener, he said the prospect of waiting until Game 2 wasn’t difficult, even with the adrenaline that comes with postseason baseball. His priority was staying prepared and following the same routine that got him here.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s Game 1 or 2, just keep focused on what we have to do and follow the game plan,” Sánchez said. “It’s not that difficult at all. It’s just a matter of being able to wait it out.”
He’s already had experience in these situations. Sánchez pitched at Dodger Stadium in last year’s postseason and has made several important starts against Atlanta, a club that knows his repertoire well.
Over the last two seasons, he owns a 2.19 ERA in four starts against the Braves, holding them to a .654 OPS.
And he’s been particularly sharp down the stretch.
In his final two regular-season starts, Sánchez pitched at least 6 1/3 innings in each, allowing no more than two runs while combining for 16 strikeouts and just one walk.
His changeup, already one of the most effective pitches in baseball, has been especially difficult to handle lately.
Across those two outings, Sánchez allowed just one hit against the pitch. Opponents swung and missed at nearly 48 percent of the changeups they offered at, while chasing nearly 49 percent of those thrown outside the strike zone.
It’s a pitch Sánchez and the Phillies have long discussed as one that can become even more effective as he gets deeper into an outing. As his body tires, he has sometimes generated more movement on it, making it even more difficult for hitters to recognize.
That’s an encouraging possibility for a pitcher who might be asked to work deeper than usual Wednesday.
It won’t necessarily be easy against the Braves, though.
Sánchez threw his changeup 43 percent of the time against right-handed hitters this season, but Atlanta has had success against it, batting .381. With the Braves capable of stacking right-handed hitters throughout their order, the effectiveness of that pitch could go a long way toward determining how deep Sánchez can work.
He understands the assignment.
“It’s a short series, so it’s just about going out there and getting as many zeros on the board as we can,” Sánchez said. “On my end, it’s just about being able to put the team in a good position to win.”
That becomes even more important when considering the state of Philadelphia’s bullpen.
The Phillies turned to Duran in the seventh inning Tuesday, asking their All-Star closer to protect a one-run lead and potentially finish the game. He retired the side in his first inning of work before Riley’s three-run homer erased Philadelphia’s lead in the eighth.
Duran threw 27 pitches. Whether he’ll be available Wednesday, and how effective he could be on that workload, remain questions for interim manager Don Mattingly.
And the alternatives come with uncertainties of their own.
Rookie Alex McFarlane allowed the go-ahead run in the sixth inning Tuesday when Ozzie Albies drove a 99-mph fastball to deep center for an RBI triple. McFarlane had emerged as one of Mattingly’s most trusted relievers down the stretch, but his first postseason appearance didn’t go as planned.
Jonathan Bowlan was available for Game 1 but wasn’t used. The right-hander hasn’t pitched in a game since Sept. 17, when he experienced groin tightness, and the Phillies elected not to bring him into Sunday’s clincher because of the wet mound at Citizens Bank Park.
Chase Shugart has been another dependable option, posting a 1.96 ERA over his last 15 appearances, although asking him to protect a late lead in an elimination game would be a significant assignment. Tim Mayza offers Mattingly a left-handed option, depending on the matchups.
Then there’s Andrew Painter.
The rookie was available out of the bullpen Tuesday, but the Phillies never called on him. There was actually no concrete plan to use him, too.
After spending the final days of the regular season preparing for a potential relief appearance, he remains an intriguing option to cover multiple innings if Sánchez can’t work as deep as Philadelphia needs.
The Phillies have arms they can turn to. What they don’t have is an obvious combination that inspires the same confidence as handing the ball to Sánchez.
That makes the left-hander’s efficiency especially important. Getting through six or seven innings would allow Mattingly to be far more selective about the relievers he uses, particularly if Duran’s availability is limited.
Sánchez has already shown how willing he is to take on additional work when the Phillies need him.
Before Sunday’s must-win regular-season finale, he told Mattingly that he was available out of the bullpen, despite being scheduled to start Game 2 if the club advanced.
“I let him know early on I felt great during catch play, so I let him know early on that I was ready to go out there for an inning if they needed me,” Sánchez said. “It’s just an important game, so I was just ready to go in case they needed me.”
The Phillies didn’t need him Sunday. They’ll need considerably more from him Wednesday.
His teammates know they have a responsibility to make the assignment easier.
Philadelphia managed three runs Tuesday, with J.T. Realmuto’s two-run triple providing a brief lead in the seventh inning. Against Mahle, the Phillies will need to create more opportunities and give Sánchez something to work with.
Schwarber was already thinking about that after watching his teammate stare out at the field.
“We know, too, that we’ve got to go out there, find a way, put traffic on base and keep trying to find a way to get guys in and give him a cushion, give him a lead,” Schwarber said. “We’re looking forward to that, I’ll tell you that. We’re looking forward to tomorrow.”
Realmuto shared that confidence, even after Tuesday’s loss. The Phillies had survived the final weekend of the regular season and knew before arriving in Atlanta that they’d have to win two games against a familiar opponent.
“For sure. This is a confident group, and we have a lot of faith in ourselves,” Realmuto said. “We just know we gotta go out and play good baseball tomorrow.”
For Sánchez, that means carrying the lessons of his previous postseason appearances into another high-pressure start. He believes the experience has helped him better understand the pace of these games, the crowd and the responsibility of keeping his team within striking distance.
“It’s about maturity,” he said. “That comes with years of experience and every process that I’ve been through as a ballplayer. Life prepares you to be in this position as well.”
The Phillies have spent the last four days playing with little room for error. Sunday, they did enough to extend their season. Tuesday, they watched another late lead disappear.
Sánchez was willing to pitch in the first of those games, but his team never needed to call on him.
Wednesday, they do.
