In a game of errors, historic relief and timely hitting, the Phillies defeated the San Diego Padres 4-2 and took the lead in the National League Championship Series, which this Friday saw its first episode at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.
We had several leads on the night, but one will be remembered for going from villain to hero. I’m referring to shortstop Jean Segura, who was part of another bad night for the Phillies’ defense, although the bell team ended up winning and now his chances of advancing to the World Series are remarkable.
In an all-or-nothing game, the locals handled it as if it were the seventh in a World Series. Manager Rob Thomson didn’t hesitate to get Ranger Suarez out after he was showing a good version and had 69 pitches in five innings. He also didn’t mind using his best reliever to get six outs.
Likewise, the Phillies were the fair winner because they held off Padres hitters for the second time in three games. Were it not for two errors, it was very likely that we were talking about the fifth shutout handed to San Diego in the current postseason.
Suarez won out over Joe Musgrove, who couldn’t shine this time as he had against the Mets and Dodgers in decisive games in the previous rounds. Although his speed and the spin on his pitches were good, he missed many locations, the first of which, forgive the redundancy, was against the first batter he faced.
On a 3-2 count, Musgrove offered a 91-mile sinker to Kyle Schwarber in the middle of the zone. The result was a connection deep in right-center that landed 408 feet from home plate. Schwarber would become the second bow man in Phillies history to hit a leadoff home run in a postseason game. Jimmy Rollins did it first three times.
Musgrove allowed two more runs in the fourth (driven in by Jean Segura) and in the sixth, with two outs, another was manufactured. Nick Castellanos doubled to left off a slider by the shooter, who remained on the mound with 99 pitches. Manager Bob Melvin decided to call it quits to pitch to Alec Bohm. In his previous turn, the Phillies third baseman attacked the first shipment -slider- to get a single, and now he would do the same but against a sinker that stung in the gardens and made it 4-2.
“I don’t feel like I was at my best tonight,” Joe told reporters after the game. Of the eight hits the right-hander gave up, none was more impressive than Jean Segura’s in the fourth inning. With two outs and a runner on second and third base, the Dominican reached the batter’s box minutes after giving up the tying score due to an error.
Musgrove had him at 1-2, he even threw a good delivery (slider down and away from the zone), but what he never imagined was that he would extend his hands and hit that ball with a swing off the hook. The bloop landed behind the second baseman and automatically the score was 3-1.
By the way, it is not the first time that Segura connects a pitch in that location, 22 days before, he had done it against the Cubs’ rookie pitcher, Javier Assad, in the same count and against a slider!
The truth is that Segura went from being a villain to becoming a hero. But that’s not where he ends his fantastic performance in the fourth inning, after he singled, he was caught off guard at first base. Never in an inning of a game play offwe had seen a player make a mistake, drive in a run and be surprised on bases.
Now, let’s give credit to the departure of Ranger Suarez, the sixth pitcher from Venezuela to achieve a five-inning game and only one earned run and two hits on his account. His work not only slowed down the Padres’ offense, it also made the bullpen’s job easier. Similarly, with the clash 4-2 at the end of the sixth inning, the Phillies coach was clear: José Alvarado to the seventh and Seranthony Domínguez will get five to six outs.
So it happened, Alvarado retired the seventh without setbacks, but Thomson applied the crane when he opened the eighth inning allowing a single to Juan Soto. The scene was set for the Phillies’ best reliever this postseason: a pitcher who posted a 5.29 ERA after the All-Star Game and gave up eight runs in six innings in September.
Dominguez got all six outs and is only the second Phillies reliever to pull off such a relief in the postseason. It hasn’t happened since Game 3 of the 1980 World Series when Tug McGraw did it. Now, the Dominican has 6.2 scoreless innings in these play off.
San Diego hitters had seven hits (all singles) and went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position. The controversy came in the ninth inning, after Josh Bell reached base on a ground ball to center. Jurickson Profar, on a 3-2 count, half-swinged a loose pitch and the third-base umpire noted that he passed his bat. The Dutchman lost his temper and was sent off. Seranthony retired the next two batters to seal the victory.
Nothing justifies the disaster, the Phillies played better despite the defensive failures. if this were Poker, I’d say Thomson went all-in for the hit. The reality is that there is still a series to go, but it is likely that he will lose Domínguez and Alvarado for today, instead, the Padres will have their best arms for the duel between Mike Clevinger and Bailey Falter. Was it worth the risk? As Joe Torre would say: “When you have the chance to win, don’t waste it.” Rob Thomson did exactly that and the odds back him up.
