Rob Thomson
It was the lingering fear shared across the Delaware Valley, the nightmare no one at a sold-out Citizens Bank Park wanted to see unfold—but it did.

The Phillies’ bats fell silent, and the new-look "Miracle Mets" bided their time, waiting for Zack Wheeler to exit before pouncing. They took control late, securing a 6-2 win in Game 1 of the NLDS.

"It sucks," Nick Castellanos said. "The way [Wheeler] threw the ball, he deserves to have a win, for sure."

Kyle Schwarber provided an early jolt for the Phils, launching a 115.8 mph missile into the right-field seats on the first pitch he saw. It was his hardest-hit home run since Game 1 of the 2023 NLCS (117.1 mph), immediately setting the tone for the Phillies.

On the mound, Wheeler matched Schwarber's intensity. He needed just 11 pitches—all strikes—to breeze through the first inning. His fastball touched 98 mph, a noticeable jump from his regular-season average of 95 mph. The extra rest seemed to work, and Wheeler was in command from the start.

By the time Wheeler tipped his cap after seven dominant innings, he had allowed just one hit. Though he battled with command at times—issuing four walks and hitting a batter—his overall dominance was clear.

"I felt good, locked in," Wheeler said. "Everything was working and J.T. [Realmuto] called a great game for me, and the defense was there when I needed them to be."

In his 12th postseason start, Wheeler lowered his career playoff ERA to 2.18 over 70 1/3 innings. His 30 swings and misses were the most by a Phillies pitcher since the stat began being tracked in 2008. His 111 pitches were the most thrown in a postseason game since the 2020 World Series, and his 77 career playoff strikeouts tied him with Cole Hamels for the franchise’s all-time postseason record.

"These fans and adrenaline have a lot to do with it, for sure," Wheeler said. "Any time it's loud like that and a lot is at stake, it's human nature I feel like to have your body just take over."

However, the game took a dramatic turn in the eighth inning as the Phillies’ bullpen faltered. Jeff Hoffman surrendered a leadoff single to Francisco Alvarez before walking Francisco Lindor, setting the stage for Mark Vientos. The tension in the air was palpable as Vientos sliced a ball down the left-field line, scoring pinch-runner Harrison Bader to tie the game at 1-1.

Brandon Nimmo followed with a single through the left side, bringing in Lindor for the go-ahead run, and Pete Alonso added a sacrifice fly to center, pushing the Mets' lead to 3-1. As the Mets batted around in the eighth, they scored five runs on five singles, two sacrifice flies, and a walk, turning the tide dramatically.

The Phillies’ top bullpen arms—Hoffman, Matt Strahm, and Orion Kerkering—struggled to stem the tide. Three of the runs in the frame were charged to Hoffman and two to Strahm.

"I'm not frustrated, I just have to do better tomorrow," Hoffman said. "We play five games for a reason, so we have to show up at the same time tomorrow and get it done."

Outside of Schwarber, the Phillies' offense was virtually nonexistent. He accounted for the team’s only two hits through the first seven innings, while the rest of the lineup went a combined 0-for-21. It wasn't until two outs in the eighth that the Phillies finally strung something together against Mets reliever Phil Maton. Bryce Harper doubled into the right-field corner, and Castellanos followed with a single, briefly igniting hopes of a comeback. But the threat evaporated when Alec Bohm grounded out to end the frame, leaving the crowd deflated.

"As an offense, I feel like we wasted that start," Harper said. "Chasing balls in the dirt, we didn't work deep into counts like we should have. We got to understand what they are going to try and do to us and flip the switch as an offense."

"You got to know what they are going to try and do, and we have to be better."

Kody Clemens doubled to right in the ninth, pushing Realmuto across with a run, but it was too little, too late.

"I feel like from the first inning through the seventh inning, it was really hard to see the baseball," Castellanos said, talking about the shadows that covered the field because of the late afternoon start. "I think on both sides. I think both teams put together better at-bats when the sun went behind the stadium."

The defeat marks the first for the Phillies in the opening game of a postseason series since Game 1 of the 2010 NLCS and snaps a seven-game winning streak in series openers.

"It's tough and not really where you want to be," Wheeler said. "But we have a really good team and have to come back out here tomorrow and win a ballgame."

What’s Next
The Phillies and Mets will square off again on Sunday in Game 2 of the NLDS, with first pitch set for 4:08 p.m. at Citizens Bank Park. Cristopher Sánchez will take the mound for the Phillies, while the Mets turn to Luis Severino. The pressure at this point resides solely on the Phillies.

2 Comments

Anonymous said…
Our batting lineup is not worth the money we are paying for! We need to retool our team!!!!
Anonymous said…
This team has scored a total of 4runs combined in 3straight home playoff games. All loses. They can’t hit consistently. They don’t hit hrs they don’t win
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