PHILLIES FALL;SEASON AT THE BRINK

BY ROCK HOFFMAN

After posting the second-best record in baseball, the Philadelphia Phillies find themselves on the brink of elimination from the National League Division Series after they lost game two of the best-of-five series to the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-3 at Citizens Bank Park.

J.T. REALMUTO BATTING DURING GAME TWO OF THE NLDS

If the Phils fail to become the 11^th team to come back from down 0-2 in a best-of-five MLB series, there’ll be several reasons. The top three hitters in the lineup – Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber, and Bryce Harper – have gotten on base just six times in 25 plate appearances for a .240 on-base percentage. They’ve combined to strike out 11 times, and Schwarber, an NL MVP candidate, has yet to get a hit in eight times at the plate. Coming into the game, in postseason play as a Phillie, Harper had an OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) of 1.478 in 20 postseason wins; in the 15 games they’ve lost, it was .630.

The Phillies' bullpen has allowed five of seven inherited runners to score in the two games. For the season, the Phils’ relief corps is right at the Major League average at allowing 32% of inherited runners to score. The Dodgers are third-best in the Majors, allowing 26% to score; for the series, they’ve kept all six such runners from touching home plate.

If they don’t advance to the NLCS, many will look back at one play from game two as the reason why. Trailing 4-1 going into the bottom of the ninth inning, the Phils' bats came alive and woke up a moribund CBP. Alec Bohm led off with a single; J.T. Realmuto followed with a double, then Nick Castellanos poked a ball into the left field corner to score the two runners. His slide at second base missed the swipe by Tommy Edman, and the Phils had the tying run in scoring position with no outs.

This is when the debate will start. Phillies manager Rob Thomson had Bryson Stott bunt. On the first pitch, which Stott took, the Dodgers showed they were going to run the wheel play, which is when the first and third basemen charge home plate, and the shortstop covers third base with the idea of getting the lead runner.

On the second pitch, Stott got the bunt down, third baseman Max Muncy fielded the ball and fired it to Mookie Betts, who easily beat Castellanos to third. He applied the tag and survived being barreled into.

“Mookie did a great job of disguising the wheel play,” Thomson said. “We teach our guys that if you see wheel, just pull it back and slash because you've got all kinds of room in the middle. Mookie broke so late that it was tough for [Stott] to pick it up.”

 As for the reason he had Stott bunting, Thomson said they were playing for the tie.

“I liked where our bullpen was as compared to theirs.  We play for the tie at home.”

Dodgers’ manager Dave Roberts wasn’t surprised.

“I told Mookie, you know Stott's going to bunt. Let's just run the wheel play,” a play Roberts said the team never practiced. “And, Max, be aggressive, field it.  And, Mookie, get over there and beat Castellanos. Those guys executed it to perfection. They made it look a lot easier than it was. For me, that was our only chance, really, to win that game in that moment.”

Pinch hitter Harrison Bader, who is nursing a strained hamstring, singled to give the Phillies two on with one out, but Max Kepler forced Weston Wilson, who ran for Bader, then Turner grounded out to send the Phillies to their fourth straight postseason loss, going back to last year.

After game one, Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman called the atmosphere at Citizens Bank Park, “electric,” but since taking a 2-0 lead over the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2023 NLCS, the Phillies are 1-5 in home playoff games.

Game three is Wednesday night in Los Angeles. Aaron Nola will get the start for the Phillies.