Phillies Crush Dodgers in Game 3, Stay Alive in NLDS
You’ll still have to sweat another one out. You’ll still have to second-guess Rob Thomson’s every move. Red October lives to see another day. The Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Los…
You'll still have to sweat another one out. You'll still have to second-guess Rob Thomson's every move. Red October lives to see another day.
The Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in 8-2 in Game 3 of the NLDS with the type of emphatic performance they've been missing for two years of MLB Postseason baseball.
Phillies Wake Up in Big 4th Inning
The top three hitters in the order couldn't keep the Phillies out of the 0-2 hole at Citizens Bank Park. Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber, and Bryce Harper entered Game 3 a combined 2-for-21 with 11 strikeouts in the NLDS.
Schwarber busted out of his slump with the spark the lineup needed. Yoshinobu Yamamoto had set the Phillies down with ease through three innings, but Schwarber led off the fourth looking to turn the momentum. The undisputed clubhouse leader sent a high fastball 455 feet into the night at Dodger Stadium.
As the visitor's dugout breathed a sigh of relief, Harper stepped into the box and barreled a single the opposite way. The hit parade continued as Alec Bohm singled up the middle. Harper's aggressive baserunning forced an errant throw to third, and the Showman walked home for the go-ahead run. Brandon Marsh drove home Bohm with a sacrifice fly to extend the lead to 3-1.
“We had good at-bats against him for sure. We got him into some counts where we expected some fastballs. I think the Schwarber home run just sort of woke everybody up and got a lot of energy going in the dugout.”
-Rob Thomson
The Phillies knocked Yamamoto out of the game in the fifth, but the Dodgers were able to manage traffic on the basepaths and stay within two runs through the seventh. The floodgates opened in the eighth, however.
J.T. Realmuto took Clayton Kershaw deep to lead off. Max Kepler, Nick Castellanos, and Turner continued the flurry of hits before the next big blow. Schwarber stepped up with a 6-1 lead and sent his second long ball of the night over the head of Teoscar Hernandez in right field.
After eighth runs, 11 hits, and three homers, the Phillies finally burst out of the offensive slump in Game 3.
Ranger Suarez & Phillies Pitching
The controversial decision to hand the ball to Aaron Nola paid off for Rob Thomson. The veteran righty pitched two scoreless innings and passed the baton to Ranger Suarez.
Suarez stayed true to his calm heartbeat and confident demeanor with five strong innings. He mixed his pitches effectively, using the slider and the curveball especially well against the left-handed power bats in the Dodgers order. While he allowed a home run to Tommy Edman on his very first pitch in the third inning, Suarez showed impressive poise to hold down Shohei Ohtani and the hard-hitting Dodgers while the Phillies lineup finally took over.
"They pretty much did exactly what we wanted. We wanted to use those guys to get as close to (closer Jhoan) Duran as we could to save some of the bullpen for tomorrow if we want. Nola was really good. The plan was to go one time through the lineup, and Ranger was on (Shohei) Ohtani."
-Rob Thomson
Orion Kerkering, Taijuan Walker, and Tanner Banks finished off the Dodgers in Game 3, and the Phillies live to see another day in the NLDS. Red October continues with Game 4 on Thursday at 6pm with Phillies ace Cristopher Sanchez back on the mound.
“They’re an experienced group of guys, so they’ve been through this a little bit. The one thing they did I think is they stayed in the moment, stayed relaxed. If you stay in the moment, trust the process, trust your teammates, and not really focus on the result, you have a better chance of getting to the result. They did that, and I’m happy with them.”
-Rob Thomson
