Phillies manager Rob Thomson had a message to deliver Tuesday night. So, he addressed the team in the clubhouse at Citi Field.
He told his players they still had a shot.
“Basically it's just very simple: You come in here tomorrow, and I told them it's the most resilient club I've ever been around," Thomson said after the Phillies’ 7-2 loss to the Mets in Game 3 of the NL Division Series, which gave New York a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series. “That's what they're all about. They're all about toughness and fighting and playing together. That's what we need to do and just focus on one game.”
The stakes are clear: A loss in Game 4 on Wednesday will end a season that once held so much promise. The Phillies have underperformed throughout the series—an offense built to bludgeon opponents has gone quiet, save for the final four innings of Game 2 when they erupted for seven runs. Their bullpen, meanwhile, has given up 12 runs in nine innings, squandering leads and turning tight games into blowouts. For a roster packed with All-Star talent, this wasn’t the script.
“Disbelief?” Nick Castellanos said. “No, because baseball is that game. Right? More just like, ‘[Shoot], I can’t believe that happened.’”
The Phillies will look to Ranger Suárez in Game 4. The lefty hasn’t found his rhythm since mid-June, but he’s been clutch in the last two postseasons. They’re hoping he can recapture that October magic at Citi Field.
“We have all the confidence in the world in him,” Bryce Harper said. “We expect the best out of him tomorrow, the best out of our bullpen, and the same from our offense. We’ve got to go out there with our backs against the wall, put some runs on the board, and let Ranger do his job.”
After Game 3, Thomson acknowledged that he expects to have everyone available to pitch if needed in Game 4, except Aaron Nola, who started Tuesday night. That potentially includes Zack Wheeler, originally slated to start a decisive Game 5 back in Philadelphia.
But the Phillies know they have to get there first.
