But Ohtani did what great pitchers do. He adjusted. He retired ten straight at one point and gave Los Angeles six innings of steady, composed work, striking out nine and allowing nothing more. The Phillies never solved him again.
This one won’t sit well with David Robertson. He recorded the final out of the sixth to relieve Cristopher Sánchez, but his seventh-inning knuckle curve drilled Will Smith — setting the table for what followed after Andy Pages opened the frame with a single.
Rob Thomson’s decision to open the seventh with Robertson can be second-guessed, but not condemned. Robertson is a 17-year veteran who’s handled up-downs plenty of times. The plan made sense; the execution didn’t.
Matt Strahm nearly cleaned up Robertson's mess, retiring Ohtani and Mookie Betts in order before Teoscar Hernández turned on a 2-1 fastball and sent it into the night for the deciding three-run shot.
The Phillies’ offense bears as much blame as anyone. They chased breaking balls in the dirt — a page ripped from last October’s NLDS loss to the Mets. Curveballs below the zone, sliders off the edge — the same mistakes, the same frustration.
The bats finished 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position and left six on base.
And for all the early noise, they secured just three hits over the final seven innings.
Thomson’s choices were reasonable. The bullpen was rested, the matchups aligned, and the staff kept Ohtani and Betts hitless (0-for-9 combined). The difference was timely execution — both on the mound and in the box.
Game 1 didn’t unravel because of a single move. It slipped away because the Phillies stopped making the small ones that win October baseball.
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