Well, hopefully, every game will be that easy. The Phillies took game 1 from the Padres, in a 2-0 win that took just under 3 hours. Wheeler had some struggles in the first inning but sailed from there. After using 24 pitches to get through 1 inning, he pitched 6 more scoreless innings, and only needed 59 pitches to do so.
Wheeler was masterful. From the 2nd inning on it all looked too easy for him. And when they went to the bullpen, Seranthony Dominguez and Jose Alvarado were no less masterful. A combined 9 scoreless innings between the 4, and they only allowed 4 base runners. Wheeler allowed 1 hit and 1 walk. Seranthony had a clean 1-2-3 easy 8th inning. And Alvarado walked one, and then an error allowed the 4th baserunner. But there were zero bad pitches between the 3 pitchers. Zero mistakes. The 3 of them needed just 109 pitches to blank the Padres in their own ballpark. And they get to send Aaron Nola out there tomorrow.
Despite the panicked cries of many a smart baseball fan in the Delaware Valley, Rob Thomson clearly made the right choice going to the pen to close out the final two innings. Dominguez has yet to allow a run through nearly 5 innings pitched this postseason. Alvardo made one mistake in game 1 against the Cardinals, but since then has been just as light out. Their bullpen may not be as deep as you may like, but their top 2 guys are nearly unhittable. Even if people on Phillies Twitter were for some reason incredibly nervous when Thomson pulled Wheeler after 7.
And with a starter like Zack Wheeler, or Aaron Nola tomorrow, on the mound, 2 bullpen pitchers will often be all you need.
As for the bats, there was not much action from them, but more than enough. Bryce Harper saw his 4th HR of the postseason just squeak over the left-field wall. And then Schwarber broke his cold streak with an HR that just barely missed leaving the whole ballpark. Calling it a bomb would be an understatement. He hit the longest homerun in the history of that ballpark. It was the hardest-hit ball in the postseason since they started tracking how hard balls are hit. He also added a hit and walk in the game for good measure. Harper has been the hottest hitter in the MLB this postseason. If Schwarber wakes up too? Watch out.
Game 2 starts tomorrow at 4:35. Aaron Nola will be on the mound for the Phillies. In 2 games and 12+ inning, he has yet to give up a run. The Phillies have every chance to be coming back home up 2-0 in the series.