Phillies’ Grit Tested as Victory Slips Through Their Fingers in Heartbreaking Clash

Ever get that nagging feeling you’re missing something obvious, yet the answers keep slipping through your fingers like a fastball on a freezing night? That’s been me this MLB Postseason — scratching my head over picks that just didn’t pan out, tossing too many chips on road teams that couldn’t quite deliver. Now, here we are, Phillies vs. Dodgers, Game 4, and the Phillies face a mountain: win three straight to keep their season alive. They rolled with the second-best record in the league, sure, but their road game tells a different story — just barely hanging over .500 away from home. The Dodgers have been clutch when it counts, especially recalling that infamous wheel play in Game 2’s ninth inning — a reminder that sometimes risk is the currency of the leader in the series. Last night, the Phillies finally caught fire, slugging their way to an eight-run bonanza, powered by Kyle Schwarber’s two massive home runs — the team’s pulse, really. Tonight, it’s Cristopher Sanchez on the mound, a Cy Young hopeful shadowed by some shaky recent road starts, against Tyler Glasnow, a pitcher the Dodgers have cautiously deployed this postseason. Can Sanchez hold steady? Will Schwarber and Turner find their stride against Glasnow’s steady stuff? All signs point to a tense finale with the Dodgers favored to close it out — but hey, if baseball has taught us anything, it’s that nothing’s ever really over ’til it’s over. Ready for the drama? LEARN MORE

Phillies vs. Dodgers, Game 4, 6:08 ET

I’ve been struggling here with the MLB Playoffs, which isn’t that new of a concept because I’ve struggled with baseball most of this year. I’ve tried evaluating what the biggest issue is, and honestly, I’m still at a bit of a loss. I may have taken too many road teams as they were terrible in most situations, and some of the splits never really worked out the way I envisioned. Either way, it wasn’t a terrible season as the plus money and multi-unit looks helped to balance the 1-1 days I typically had. The season is winding down, and it could potentially be over for the Phillies if they can’t beat the Dodgers today.

The Phillies had the second-best record in the league at 96-66 for the year, but they are facing an uphill battle of needing to win three straight against the Dodgers to make it to the next round of the playoffs. Even as good as the Phillies have been, they were just one game over .500 on the road. The first two games of the series were very close, but ultimately it was the Dodgers who came up with the big hits when needed. Everyone is still talking about Game 2’s wheel play in the bottom of the ninth. I think partially that the play happened because the Dodgers won the first game. I think you can take a bigger risk when you’re up in a series. The Phillies, for example, needed to play small ball and move the guy from second to third instead of swinging away. The Dodgers were given the opportunity to get the lead runner, and they executed it perfectly. Last night, with their backs up against the wall, the Phillies broke out the bats, and the pitching staff took care of the rest. It should come as no surprise given that the Phillies won the game, and scored eight runs, but Kyle Schwarber blasted two bombs out of the park. As he goes, so too do the Phillies in general.

Today the Phillies look to do it again and extend the season. Of all the remaining lineups in the playoffs, the Phillies arguably have the best offense to go after this juggernaut pitching staff from the Dodgers. They are sending out Cristopher Sanchez to the hill, a guy who will likely get Cy Young consideration. He went 13-5 with a 2.50 ERA, and a 1.06 WHIP. Sanchez did have a full run higher ERA on the road than he did at home, but it was at 3.02, so not brutal. He went 5.2 innings against the Dodgers on Saturday and allowed just two earned runs. He will be on regular rest for this start. There are some reasons to be a bit worried if you’re a Philly fan – In three of his past four road starts, he has allowed at least four runs. That includes a seven-inning outing in Los Angeles against the Dodgers where he allowed seven hits, four earned runs, and two homers. Tyler Glasnow goes for the Dodgers. Los Angeles has used Glasnow only once this postseason. He didn’t start or relieve in the first series, but I’m curious if the Dodgers used him in relief in Game 1 just to get him some work. Otherwise, it would’ve been quite some time since he pitched. He did allow two hits and two walks in 1.2 innings in Game 1. He faced the Phillies early in the year and allowed five earned runs over two innings of work.

Glasnow has been decent enough against the Phillies, in his career, holding them to a .246 average against him. However, two guys stand out as having particular struggles – Schwarber and Trea Turner. Both of them are catalysts to this offense, and it could be tough for Philadelphia to get going without them. I see the Dodgers having a short leash with Glasnow in this one. Sanchez seems to be worse on the road, and Glasnow will probably allow a run or two if they let him pitch three innings. I do think the Dodgers end the series tonight. Sanchez has been good, but I just don’t trust him against Glasnow and the Dodgers.

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