GDT 10/19/23 Philadelphia Phillies (Suárez, R) @ Arizona Diamondbacks (Pfaadt)

[Aquapong]

That one sucks to lose, but the offense just didn’t show up today. I think I would’ve intentionally walked Rivera in the 9th, but who knows if it would’ve turned out differently.

[bkox]

Diamondbacks are starting Joe Mantiply in Game 4. Bullpen game.

— Matt Gelb ( @MattGelb ) October 20, 2023

[zambonir]

Astros-Rangers already just about a bullpen game.

[LoneStarPhan]

While I expected the series would go more than four games, it is never fun to lose.

Today, the offense just was not there. One run on three hits. Pitching was generally good but they needed perfect. Kimbrel started off with a walk and added a second walk to load the bases without an out. Those walks cost him this game.

Tomorrow is an important game and one the Phillies need to win.

[zambonir]

I really expected them to win this game though. Ranger was as good as I expected. But their guy matched him.

In the end it is not surprising that they lost a West Coast road game, and their first road game in almost two weeks. I do wonder about how they chose to manage the travel (Dbacks flew him right after Game 2, Phillies waited until morning) and their game day preparation.

They are 0-2 on the road this postseason now too.

[HopeSpringsEternal]

I do wonder about how they chose to manage the travel

Yeah, one would think their biorhythms were messed up today, including the unusual start time for the game.

[zambonir]

It was the same time as Game 3 of the NLDS, but agreed. They had played three straight 8pm EDT games since then and sleep cycle was probably messed up. Had it been an 8pm game I'm sure they would have spent more time at the ballpark.

Of course the DBacks had to to travel to the East Coast and back, after spending their entire NLCS series on Pacific time.

[BostonRoss]

Because the Phillies offense has been so good lately, it’s easy to forget they have plenty of clunkers. They must have had at least 20 games this season where they got shut out or scored only one run. It was bound to happen during the playoffs.

[el-pietro]

They won game one behind Ranger in Atlanta. 1-2 on the road

[zambonir]

Yeah I realized that after. Was a long time ago! So, lost two straight on the road. And don't actually have to win one to win this series, though that would be less than optimal. Not worried, though I do think it would be crazy for them to be favored in a WS against Texas. Which may or may not happen!

[zambonir]

happened in the playoffs last year too, alas

[Austinfan]

Pfaadt is a good pitcher, he's one of their top prospects, went through a learning curve his season, but his FB must have a lot of movement b/c the Phillies struggle to pick it up and square up. Second time around he probably won't have as good of control and they'll have seen him.

But give him credit, he pitched a heck of a game.

[zambonir]

Second time around he probably won't have as good of control and they'll have seen him.

Or we could just not let him make a second start.

[zambonir]

Because the Phillies offense has been so good lately, it’s easy to forget they have plenty of clunkers. They must have had at least 20 games this season where they got shut out or scored only one run. It was bound to happen during the playoffs.

And yet:

• Since the Phillies finally got their act together in the first week of June, just about nobody had dominated them the way Brandon Pfaadt did Thursday. Since the end of May, only one opposing starter had a game like Pfaadt’s — nine strikeouts or more, no runs allowed — against them. That was Corbin Burnes (12 strikeouts) three months ago (July 20).

I was actually at that Brewers game. In the second half of the season they only scored zero or one runs six times. In the first half, 11.

[Benchjockey]

I really don't get the Kerkering love. I thought small sample size was a cautionary mantra here. Let's be honest with ourselves. Orion pitched 3 regular season innings. Then he appeared in 3 blowout postseason wins. Based on that, we are fine with him in high leverage situations? Yes, his stuff had looked good but these guys are not robots. As a guy who just spent this past season in the minors, how do we know how he will handle MLB pressure-cookers? Yes, he did well in his non-blowout Braves appearance but that is hardly grounds for confidence in using him in a 1-run game last night.

Let me go on record as someone who loves Kerkering's talent and sees him as a viable closer as early as next season. But as soon as I saw him come in last night, I felt a sense of dread. Who knows where his head is now but if I were Topper, I would be greatly hesitant to bring him into any meaningful game situation going forward.

[zambonir]

Either Thomson wasn't confident in Seranthony - not unreasonable given his rough season and poor last outing - or he just figured he was playing with house money and didn't want to use everyone yesterday with a bullpen game today. A few games ago he went with Kimbrel early, which he could have done last night but then we would have been seeing Kerkering or Seranthony in the 9th. Just too bad we didn't get to see someone in the 10th.

It's an all-hands-on-deck bullpen and they definitely trust Kerkering more than Soto (in that he's supposed to be able to match up okay with lefties, whereas Soto does not match up with righties). He could have gone with Strahm yesterday who is generally fine against both but he was probably saving him for another run at Carroll if not today.

[bkox]

Iassogna missed 14 ball/strike calls in the game according to Umpire Auditor on X, good(?) for an accuracy rate of 89.4%.

Dan Iassogna was royally bad in Phillies' NLCS Game 3 loss

[MichaelJackSchmidt]

This is VERY interesting. Iassogna was ranked 79th of 92 umpires during the regular season. There are a total of 24 umpires needed for the wildcard series, 24 for the LDS series, 12 for the LCS, and 6 for the World Series. If Iassogna was ranged 79 of 92, why did MLB pick him for the postseason? MLB needs 24 umpires (plus a few in case of injury or personal absences), so why wouldn't MLB pick the top 24-30 umpires? Iassogna should be no where near the postseason unless it's as a spectator.

[andyb]

Crew chiefs are always older and Iassogna is a crew chief now (age 54). Whenever you see balls and strikes accuracy rankings the key variable is age. Few umpires over 45 are near the top. This could be built-in biases over decades of service, but I think mainly that calling balls and strikes is just a young person's job.

[zambonir]

Or at least the younger umps are much more attuned to the computer evaluation system.

I would assume seniority still gets you some post-season assignments too.