GDT 10/7/23 Philadelphia Phillies (Suárez, R) @ Atlanta Braves (Strider)

[gmwannabe]

Oh....Nevermind.

[LoneStarPhan]

Winning the first game is huge! They still need two more wins. Keep the pressure on!

Just cannot say enough about the pitching tonight. Seven pitchers combine to shut out the Braves.

[zambonir]

Most of the right hand bats couldn't do anything against strider just like most of the left hand bats only did a little against the Marlins. Great managing and team effort. And luck of course.

[bkox]

Regarding the Catcher's interference

For the record.. Murphy told me he didn’t feel the bat hit his glove, but he heard it. Said it was correct call https://t.co/By70PUM6s4

— Zach Klein ( @ZachKleinWSB ) October 8, 2023

[zambonir]

The press just told Ranger that Thomson and the staff debated whether to tell him in advance how short his outing was going to be. He was glad they didn't.

[LoneStarPhan]

The day off tomorrow (Sunday) puts the relievers who pitched today back on the avaialible list for Monday. Then another off day for travel will make everyone back available for Wednesday/Thursday in Philadelphia.

[bkox]

In the fifth, Seranthony Dominguez found himself in a jam.

“Make a few good pitches and we win this game,” Cotham told him.

“Trust your stuff. Go right at him,” Realmuto told him.

Dominguez struck out Acuña and Riley. He looked like his dominant self: https://t.co/aFfw3lT2y7

— Alex Coffey ( @byalexcoffey ) October 8, 2023

Last year, Dominguez turned his postseason around after one dominant outing in the NL wild card series in St. Louis. Cotham and Realmuto are hopeful that tonight’s outing will have a similar effect.

More here: https://t.co/aFfw3lT2y7 pic.twitter.com/5qMfPxbMBR

— Alex Coffey ( @byalexcoffey ) October 8, 2023

[zambonir]

Great read if you subscribe. JT knew and the position players knew and the bullpen guys were told to get there early.

“This could happen,” Thomson told his players during batting practice. “Don’t treat it as panic. If we have to go, we go.”

Inside Rob Thomson and the Phillies' bold bullpen plan that blanked the Braves...

Thomson is also just so imperturbable. He said last night, yeah, it could have backfired and I would have looked really bad. And that was true with just about every other pitching change too.

“Well,” Thomson said, “one thought is that you tell him to empty the tank early. ‘Don’t worry about going deep.’ Is that the best message to send him? Or is it, ‘Hey, you know, just go and pitch your game. Don’t worry about it and just pitch your game.’ So I decided not to tell him and let him pitch his game, and he pitched well. Then he’s disappointed to come out.

“I get it. If that didn’t work out, it would be scrutinized. But it is what it is, and you gotta make the best decision in your mind that you need to make.”

[Austinfan]

Ranger kinda got screwed when Turner made the wrong play (had the sure out at first), wasn't comfortable with Hoffman coming in there.

The worst moving was sending Kerkering back out there after a long half inning, you could see he lost his edge, and I don't like Strahm against good RH hitters - but Turner made up for his mistake!

[bkeich]

Lost in Turner making a great initial play on the DP was Stott with a possibly more impressive turn. He barely had the ball long enough for the camera to catch it. He put himself in perfect position to catch and throw in one motion, it isn’t as flashy as what Turner did but to me he is the reason it was a double play.

[VoteForKalas]

Ranger kinda got screwed when Turner made the wrong play (had the sure out at first), wasn't comfortable with Hoffman coming in there.

There was little chance Turner could have gotten the hitter on that play. 2B was the best option from his position and the speed of the ball, but he was unable to get to it and get it out of his glove fast enough to nail Olson.

There is no one to blame on that play, just luck of the draw on a weakly hit ball.

I agree that pulling Suarez because of that was a mistake; thankfully it did not bite us this time due to great relief pitching and good defense later by Realmuto, Bohm, Turner, Stott and Harper.

I do not think that is a sustainable model, but Rob seems to manage every game in isolation and goes for the win whenever possible. I have mixed feelings about that approach; I like the aggression and decisiveness, but worry that eventually (like we saw last year in the WS) the pitchers will falter under that strain and the offense will not be able to pick them up in critical situations.

[zambonir]

I think they are lucky to be playing the Braves in a short series and he won't manage exactly this way in the longer ones/against other line-ups. But it's hard to argue with the numbers versus just saying "let the starter stay in," and it also means we're unlikely to see Sanchez unless it is in a really targeted spot too (and Soto didn't get the nod last night since he's basically a LOOGY in a three-batter world). Should they need to do this again in Game 4 I'd consider an opener.

Phillies left-hander Ranger Suárez started Game 1, but he did not last long by design. The Braves had an MLB-best .871 OPS against lefties this season, the seventh-highest OPS by any team against southpaws since 1974.

(And Ranger allowed a .775 opposing OPS to RHB this season vs. .515 to LHB. He was coming out soon anyway, the baserunner just hastened it. Lucky for Hoffman he didn't get the guy he was supposed to get but then got the next one.)

And then there's also this. Another reason for Nola to be on a shorter leash potentially too, though they can't burn out the bullpen in Game 3 with no off-day unless it's the killing blow.

But the Phillies believed they had something to neutralize the Braves’ lineup: high velocity from their bullpen. Philadelphia's relievers averaged an MLB-best 96.3 mph on their fastballs this season. (They averaged 97.0 mph in Game 1.) Atlanta had a .509 slugging percentage on pitches slower than 97 mph this season, but it slugged a mere .396 against pitches 97 mph or harder.

Phillies click on all fronts to shut out Braves in Game 1

[MichaelJackSchmidt]

Yeah, Rob's move was risky. I did not like it and believe they could have achieved the same result allowing Ranger to continue through at least the 6th but I'm not the manager, what do I know? Yeah, it's not sustainable but I don't think Rob thinks it is. It was a one-time thing. I still think the Braves win the series though.

[zambonir]

believe they could have achieved the same result allowing Ranger to continue through at least the 6th

Yeah, that's the thing, I definitely didn't believe that. He could have stayed in longer but he never would have faced the top of the Braves' order a third time, and they came up again in the 5th. And while Hoffman walked Ozuna Ranger might have given up a hit (just as he did to Olson) or worse (he has nearly a 1,000 OPS against LHP).

All hindsight and a coin flip of course.

[BaseballCat]

Everything worked out great. My thoughts are on Ranger’s next start, should he have one, and I am hoping he does. They need to be honest with him so you don’t have him wondering what is “the plan”. Don’t want to mess with his head.

[zambonir]

It doesn't really need to be thought about yet. He's definitely available to pitch in Game 3 if they are leading and want him to. And if he does get the "start" in Game 4 there's no way to not tell him his outing is likely to be short! They're certainly not going to promise him he might get 15 or 18 hitters even if it's possible. An opener would also make sense.

But right now if I'm in the Phillies clubhouse I am not discussing Game 4 because I'm not planning to play it.

[Aquapong]

The plan is to win and put guys in places they have the best chance to succeed. This isn’t a 162 game marathon anymore…it a best of 5 sprint. All of the players need to put their best effort forward when they are called on.

[zambonir]

Well, it's still a 13-game half-marathon of sorts (13 wins, more games than that). The Phillies had it pretty good last year only playing 2, 4 and 5 games, and yet they all looked gassed by Game 4 of the Series. They have a lot more depth and ability to pace everyone (starters and relievers alike) this time. Including four guys we didn't even see pitch yesterday, even if we might not want to in some cases.

[Austinfan]

To be fair to Thompson, he had a rested bullpen so by limited Ranger's pitch count he has the option of bringing him back rested later in the series. Nola, Ranger and Wheeler the next three games. A rested Ranger in game 4 means if the bullpen gets worked in game 3, he's more likely to go 6-7 innings.

[tom81]

It also gave them the option of bringing him back on short rest in game #3 if it was a clincher.