Saturday night at Citizens Bank Park was the kind of game that no manager wants to relive or remember. The Phillies had taken a 3-0 lead against the Dodgers with J.T. Realmuto diving in two on a triple and scoring on Harrison Bader’s sacrifice fly. For a moment, it did look like Rob Thomson’s squad could silence LA. But then the same questionable decisions and sequencing simply changed the entire game.

At the center of it was Shohei Ohtani, who pitched in his first career postseason, and it was stellar. Six dominant innings, retired 15 of their last 17 batters he faced—he was on fire. His only error was Realmuto’s two-run triple, but that didn’t stop the narrative. By the seventh, Enrique Hernandez’s double and Teoscar Hernandez’s three-run homer turned the game and gave the Dodgers the 5-3 lead that they would never give up.

And this is where the real game changed, and the fact that Strahm had to face Betts and Hernandez had ill effects. And insider Joe Giglio highlighted the seventh-inning decisions: “They drop 1 five of the Dodgers. I don’t want to take the hitters to be out of hook, or players, I thought… Rob Thomson had a bad night. I thought the sequencing of Robertson to Strahm in the seventh inning was not good. You cannot let Strahm face both Betts and Hernandez..he gave them a chance to take the game back. I thought Dave Roberts outmanaged Rob Thomson in a significant way on Saturday night. I thought he played right into Dave Roberts’ hands the way he set up his lineup.” And where is the lie?

Matt Strahm fumed after allowing Hernandez to round the bases. For now, the reality is harsh. Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber, and Bryce Harper combined to go 1-for-11 with five strikeouts. The Phillies’ top of the order lineup was ineffective due to a masterclass performance by two-way phenom Ohtani. He was backed by the Dodgers’ bullpen that turned starters into relievers and simply shut the door. Schwarber said, “It’s up to us to make the adjustments and go out there and feel like we’re doing everything possible to put ourselves in a position to win a baseball game.”

Now, game 2 is looming between the Phillies and Dodgers. The Philadelphia Phillies must rebound, or they risk ending the season suddenly. The reality is that in a 2-2-1 division format, losing game 1 on the road is seen as a disadvantage, and that it leaves teams only a 26.1% chance to advance. The Phillies know this, and the question is whether the Phillies will regroup—and it seems like they will.

Phillies’ Rob Thomson set to go aggressive with the bullpen  

After that gut-wrenching loss to the Dodgers, it seems like Rob Thomson wants to do right by things because they cannot afford another home loss. So, the manager is planning an all-hands-on-deck approach with his bullpen, according to John Clark of NBC Sports Philadelphia. Thomson said, “I think we’ll probably have everybody available, really, other than Sanchy (Cristopher Sanchez). And then we’ll figure out Game 3 if we use everybody. But I would think, if we were going to use some sort of– I’m talking about Ranger and Nola being available — probably only use one of those guys, unless we absolutely had to, just so that the other guy can start Game 3.” 

The message, hence, is clear—the Philadelphia Phillies must win this game, or their postseason will be on life support. And losing again at home means the Los Angeles Dodgers get a 2-0 lead and head to LA, and that would only worsen the Phillies’ chances at moving ahead. Now Thomson’s aggressive strategy includes starters like Nola and Suarez pitching out of the bullpen. They would be alongside relievers like Matt Strahm, David Robertson, Orion Kerkering, and closer Jhoan Duran.

Everyone except Sanchez is available, and this gives the skipper the flexibility to send pitchers whenever necessary to stop the Dodgers’ offensive prowess with Ohtani and Freeman. Jesus Luzardo is starting his first postseason game, and the team will rely heavily on his support. And how he fares with Blake Snell remains to be seen!