The Los Angeles Dodgers hadn’t won a postseason series against the Philadelphia Phillies since 1978, but that changed on Saturday night. Against 45,000 raucous Phillies fans, Shohei Ohtani settled down after a three-run second to strike out nine in six innings and lead the Dodgers to a 5-3 win over Kyle Schwarber and Co. It marked only the seventh time in Ohtani’s career that he had struck out 4 times in a game. And only the second time in his career that he had struck out in four consecutive plate appearances. However, in the course of the Phillies’ brutal loss, they lost their $6.25 million outfielder, Harrison Bader.

Bader was pulled from Game 1 of the NLDS due to what was first reported as hamstring tightness. However, later, manager Rob Thomson told the reporters that it’s actually due to groin tightness.

Before his exit, he contributed to the Phillies’ offense in the second inning with a sacrifice fly RBI that stretched the Phillies’ lead to 3-0. In fact, in the fifth inning, the Gold Glove winner also made a big defensive play in the outfield by catching a big fly ball from Andy Pages with a runner on base and zero outs.

He was then replaced by Nick Castellanos to pinch-hit. It marked Casty’s first appearance in the MLB playoffs since 2022 with the New York Yankees.

In the postgame media availability, Harrison Bader spoke to reporters about the extent of the injury and the plan moving forward. “I definitely feel like I’ll be able to come back for sure. You know, we have an off day tomorrow. We’ll just get some imaging done and go from there.” Further, he addressed how playing in the postseason is the time when one has to “empty the tank.” Bader’s remakes reflected his willingness to try to play through an injury that otherwise might have sat him down if we were in the regular season.

In over 50 games with the Phillies, the 31-year-old has hit .305/.361/.463 with five home runs, eleven doubles, and a triple in 194 trips to the plate.

Well, now, after a rest day on Sunday, the Dodgers will return to Citizens Bank Park on Monday to play the Phillies. Speaking of Saturday’s loss, the Phillies couldn’t find their momentum against Ohtani. And if they don’t want another loss on Monday, they’ll need a different game plan than the one they had on Saturday.

The Philadelphia Phillies struggled to capitalise on the two-way phenom

Ahead of Saturday’s NLDS game, the Phillies’ former GM, Ruben Amaro, gave the team much-needed advice to go against Shohei Ohtani. He had said, “If I’m facing him, I’m looking for a fastball or something that’s up in the zone. I’m going to have to be aggressive on it early.” Well, the Phillies still didn’t have many answers against Ohtani.

They did get to him early on, but once he settled in, the momentum completely shifted entirely in the Dodgers’ favor. During the second inning, the Phillies showcased patience at the plate and gave Ohtani a tough time, making him throw 24 pitches in that inning.

Alec Bohm was composed throughout the full count, and he drew a walk on a 98 mph fastball that fell just outside of the zone. After he sat on it and worked a walk, Brandon Marsh followed with a single on a two-strike, 100 mph fastball to make it two on.

Following that, J.T. Realmuto drove both in off a triple to right. It brought both runners home. That happened partly because of Teoscar Hernández’s misread.

However, the Phillies’ spark then started fading rapidly, which assured their loss. Largely because their biggest stars did not deliver when it mattered the most. Ohtani’s five strikeouts came against the Phillies’ top 3 names: Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber, and Bryce Harper.

Harper and Schwarber were both overly aggressive. They swung early in the count. While Harper chased three of the first four pitches he saw, Schwarber swung at two of four. This approach did not pay off. They might need to strategize better for Monday’s game.