Phillies’ Season on the Line: Can They Mount a Stunning Comeback Against the Dodgers?

There’s plenty to unpack after the Phillies stumbled out of the gate with a gut-wrenching 5-3 defeat at the hands of the Dodgers in Game 1 of the NLDS this past Saturday. It’s one of those moments where the mind races—second-guessing every pitch, every lineup move, every call from the dugout. But here’s what we can’t ignore: come Monday night, the Phillies face a must-win scenario to even the series, and the stage is set for left-hander Jesús Luzardo to try and set things right against Dodgers’ southpaw Blake Snell.

Since late July, Luzardo’s been in fine form—taking the mound eleven times, logging nearly seventy innings, and holding a solid 2.84 ERA while fanning 80 batters. The Phillies have emerged victorious in seven of those starts, a testament to his growing steadiness. Jesus himself brushes off any talk of pressure with a grounded perspective—“It’s just another game,” he said, pointing out that this squad has bounced back before after Game 1 losses. Home turf advantage has been their fortress all season, and he’s banking on that familiar comfort to fuel the comeback.

On the flip side, Blake Snell is red-hot, coming off a dominant Wild Card outing where he dazzled the Cincinnati Reds lineup through seven innings. Over his last few starts, the former Cy Young winner has been nearly untouchable, with striking numbers in strikeouts and stingy run allowance. Talk about a formidable foe.

The Phillies’ biggest hurdle, though, lies beyond pitching—they desperately need clutch hitting. Their big three hitters, Turner, Schwarber, and Harper, struggled collectively in the opener, going just 1-for-11 and striking out six times. Even with scoring early in the game, they couldn’t break through when it counted, leaving promising base runners stranded. Defensive plays and solid pitching kept them afloat until the Dodgers seized momentum late, capped by Teoscar Hernandez’s decisive three-run homer.

Injuries poke their head through the headlines, too, with Harrison Bader leaving Saturday’s game nursing a groin soreness. Manager Rob Thomson received cautious but hopeful news, with treatment underway and a decision pending on his status for Game 2.

Ultimately, the spotlight will fall on Luzardo, armed with recent experience against this Dodgers lineup and lessons gleaned from watching teammate Cristopher Sánchez. It’s a chess match of adjustments, familiarity, and mental grit.

Nothing about this situation screams comfort for the Phillies right now, but baseball’s a game of twists—losing at home stings, but it’s hardly the final chapter. With small-ball strategies and timely hitting needed to turn the tide, I’m eager to see how they respond Tuesday night under the lights. One thing’s for sure: they know what’s at stake, and they’re ready to fight.

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So many thoughts, second guesses and Monday morning quarterback analysis when it comes to the Phillies’ crushing 5-3 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 1 of the NLDS on Saturday.

This much we do know. The Phillies are in a must-win situation when the two teams reconvene on Monday for Game 2. Left-hander Jesús Luzardo will be looking to even the series when he faces Dodgers lefty Blake Snell. Since July 29, Luzardo has started 11 games and logged 69 2/3 innings and has posted a 2.84 ERA while giving up six home runs. He has struck out 80 during that time and the Phillies have gone 7-4 during those starts.

“It’s just another game, in reality,” said Luzardo, when asked if there’s any added pressure on him. “In the grand scheme of things, there’s been a lot of series this year where we ended up winning after losing game one, that we just bounce back and won two in a row. I think that’s the mentality that we have to take.

“Obviously, you want to get a win, it’s important to do that at home. I wouldn’t say there’s added pressure or anything. Just go out and play the game the way we know how to play it. We’ve been the best team in baseball at home so there’s a reason for that.”

Snell pitched the Wild Card Series opener against the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday and went seven innings, struck out nine and allowed just four hits and two earned runs in a 10-5 Los Angeles win. In his last three regular season outings, the former Cy Young Award winner allowed one earned run over 19 innings, nine hits and struck out 28 and walked just four. To say he is hot right now would be a huge understatement.

All the second guessing of using who and when out of the bullpen really doesn’t matter if the Phillies don’t come up with some timely hitting. The top three in their order – Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper – went 1-for-11 with a walk and six strikeouts in Saturday’s loss. In the fifth inning, with runners on first and second with one out and the Phillies leading 3-0, Turner softly lined out to shortstop and Schwarber struck out swinging on a 3-2 curveball from Shohei Ohtani.

In the seventh against reliever Tyler Glasnow, J.T. Realmuto reached base on an error by third baseman Max Muncy to lead off the inning, only to get stranded on a fly out by Max Kepler and a double play by pinch-hitter Nick Castellanos.

The Phillies loaded the bases with two outs in the eighth off Glasnow, but pinch-hitter Edmundo Sosa flied out to deep center to end that threat. And after Kepler laced a one-out double to right in the ninth, Roki Sasaki was able to retire Castellanos and Bryson Stott to give the Dodgers the lead in the series.

“Yeah, especially the bottom part of the order I thought we really had pretty good at-bats all night long,” said Thomson. “The guys at the top, they pitched them tough, a lot of breaking balls. Ohtani was really tough on them. I thought that the guys at the bottom did a nice job.

“I don’t sense any extra pressure. I feel like they’re loose. We made a lot of good plays on defense last night. We pitched well. We just didn’t get the big hit when we needed. We had some chances. That’s the way it is. I think it’s just kind of the ebbs and flows of the game. We got to come out here tomorrow night and play well.”

There were chances, but the Phillies just never seemed to get that back-breaking hit after they scored three runs in the second inning, two on a triple by Realmuto on one more when Harrison Bader knocked him in with a sacrifice fly to left.

But that was it. Ohtani retired 12 of the next 14 Phillies and the momentum they had built in the second disappeared as quickly as a Kyle Schwarber line drive home run. And the Dodgers pounced, winning the game on a three-run home run by three-hole hitter Teoscar Hernandez in the seventh off Matt Strahm.

Up until Hernandez’ home run, the top three hitters in the Dodgers order – including Ohtani and Mookie Betts – were

And now Rob Thomson may have to manage his lineup a bit differently, as Bader left the game on Saturday with soreness in his groin after running to second on a single by Stott in the fifth.

“No major tear or strain,” Thomson said of his starting centerfielder. “He’s going to come in this afternoon and get treatment, and we’ll know more tomorrow. I think after the game they stretched him out; they got him moving around a little bit and I think he felt a lot better after that. We’ll know whether he’s available to start or at least to pinch-hit. We’ll know more tomorrow.”

While hitters have to hit for the Phillies, especially the ones at the top of the order, the focus, as it always does, will fall on the starting pitcher. Luzardo has the benefit of having faced the Dodgers on September (four runs in seven innings) and watching fellow lefty Cristopher Sánchez attack them last night.

“I’ve been going after him basically all season at this point and I think for the most part I would do a good job of (studying),” Luzardo said. “We’re different pitchers but at the same time lefthanded. They take certain swings or certain approaches against him. That might change a little bit with me. There’s something to that and understanding how their approach was with him, how they looked on certain pitches. I definitely study the way he pitched them and how they reacted to that.

“It works both ways. They get a little bit on you, understanding how you work and how they see you. But at the same time, you get a little familiarity with them, their swing paths and their approach. It might change a little here and there but for the most part it is what it is. There’s comfort knowing that you faced them a good amount, especially recently.”

Comfort wouldn’t seem to be a word floating around the Phillies’ situation right now, but we’ll see starting at 6:08 p.m.

“It is baseball and sometimes you lose games at home,” Thomson said. “You’ve got to play well. You’ve got to pitch, and you have to play defense and swing the bats, play small ball at times. It’s just the way it is. It doesn’t mean we’re not going to come in here tomorrow night and not play well. I know that we’ve played better at home. I feel like we’re more comfortable at home, that’s for sure. They’ll come out here, and they’ll be ready to go tomorrow night.”

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