Game 2 NLDS: The Phillies season is on life support

00:00:08
Speaker 1: The Philly Show is presented by Fox One. Ruben Tomorrow Junior, Jim Salisbury, Todds a lucky It's Tuesday, October seventh, twenty twenty five. The Philly season is on the brink. Following Monday Night's four to three loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game two of the NL Division Series. They are down two in the best of five series. We need to talk about what happened on Monday Night. It's time for the Park's First Pitch. First Pitch is brought to us exclusively by our partners at Parks Casino, Pennsylvania's number one casino.

00:00:50
Speaker 2: Guys. Here, we are a lot of talk.

00:00:54
Speaker 1: All season long about where this team could go and what they might be able to do in October, and now they are one game from elimination and might not even win a postseason game after the last Monday Nights for three loss to the Dodgers.

00:01:12
Speaker 2: Who wants to kick us off?

00:01:14
Speaker 3: I'll just say it's hard to believe when you look at where this offense is. But again, it's not hard to believe. We've been talking about this, honestly for years, how this offense can be up one day? You know, down the next up, one week, down the next. How they rely on their big boys to take them where they want to go, and they're big boys are ice cold. The Dodgers haven't really hit, but Phillies haven't hit either, and the Dodgers have definitely been more opportunistic. And the what is it the team that in the best of five eighty times? The team that has gone out O two has lost eighty out of ninety.

00:01:59
Speaker 1: Yeah, that has gone out O two has lost eighty out of ninety times. In postseason history, the most recent comeback from a two to zero deficit was the twenty seventeen.

00:02:11
Speaker 2: Yankees Alds.

00:02:13
Speaker 1: In the current Division Series format too, that's a two to two to one format where the road team win games both one and two. They've won sixteen out of eighteen, including twelve sweeps. The twenty fifteen Blue Jays are the last team to do what the Phillies want to do. So it's been a decade since the you know, somebody's done what the Phillies want to do.

00:02:30
Speaker 3: And the Dodgers are a bear, and Dodgers Stadium is a bear. Yamamoto is on the mound, and the Phillies are turning their lonely eyes to Aaron Nola, to me a head scratching decision. This team is in dire straits.

00:02:42
Speaker 4: Reuben, Yeah, it's in a tough situation for him, and they created it themselves. Great pitching performances by the two starters. I think the two lefties have done a good job. Lozardo deserves a lot of credit for the way he handled things under a great deal of pressure and there's a lot of questions without how he could handle that.

00:03:03
Speaker 2: He handled it very very well.

00:03:05
Speaker 4: But the big boys and uh, pretty much the entire lineup, they didn't handle it well, and so they put themselves in a tough position. This is what happens in playoff and postseason play. You have to make the plays. You have to get the base hits, the big bass hits, not home runs, the big bass hits, and you have to make the pitches. And they have so far they have not done either of the three. The Dodgers have done the three of them a little bit better. And that's whether to and Ozero and the Phillies are zeroing too.

00:03:42
Speaker 3: And boy did Max Munsey and Mookie Betts make a defensive play Monday night.

00:03:50
Speaker 2: The Phillies have.

00:03:51
Speaker 1: We're gonna get We're going to talk about some of those big plays, big moments that happened. We're going to talk Jim, I'm with you. We're going to talk about Aaron Nola starting Game three. Ruben, I can't wait to hear your thoughts on on game three and and some of these things. Phillies now have lost five out of their last six home playoff games.

00:04:12
Speaker 2: Four limit the Bank.

00:04:14
Speaker 1: It's no longer bed limit the Bank. It's no longer four hours of hell. You know, they were getting booed last night, which I one hundred percent understand. Fans are frustrated. They're like, are you kidding me? Those boozes were literally saying, are you kidding me?

00:04:30
Speaker 2: Let's go.

00:04:31
Speaker 1: And then when Edmundo Sosa hit that single in the fifth inning to break up the no hitter, Blake Snell's no hitter, they you could see they rose up and they and they cheered because they just want so badly to get to help this team get going. Uh, you know, asked about it after the game, how surprised he is? Nick Castiano said, you know, I think this stadium is alive on both sides right when the game is going good, it's win at our back, but when the game is not going good, it's wind in our face. So theenvironment can be with us and the environment can be against us.

00:05:05
Speaker 3: Just what we've talked about a handful of times in the past couple of weeks. How when this team, when things aren't going good, as Cassianos said, when they're behind, the team gets tight, the ballpark gets tight, and the two sort of feed off each other, and all of a sudden, you know, it becomes it engulfs you as a team. The pressure that's on this team is enormous, and they have not handled it well for the second straight October.

00:05:32
Speaker 4: And I have to say this, I didn't think Snell was all that dominant. I really didn't.

00:05:37
Speaker 3: Twenty three swings and misses.

00:05:41
Speaker 2: But he did not throw up strikes.

00:05:43
Speaker 4: I mean, he's a game chase part of his game, and that's where that's where I am surprised.

00:05:51
Speaker 2: It didn't make any adjustments. They've just seen him.

00:05:55
Speaker 4: It's something that we've talked about since spring training about not chasing.

00:06:00
Speaker 3: It's in their DNA.

00:06:02
Speaker 4: It's in their DNA, and a game they can't get it out, and it's clear that they're dangerous hitters. They're not great hitters.

00:06:13
Speaker 3: That's a that's a great distinction, great distinction. Hey, that's first pitch. And it's presented exclusively by our partners at Parks Casino, Pennsylvania's number one casino. Parkscasino dot Com is the website. You must be twenty one to participate, and if you have a gambling problem, call a one eight hundred gambler.

00:06:37
Speaker 1: All of our playoff coverage is brought to you by Fox One. Fox one is now live stream all of your Fox favorites together in one place, including all ALE playoff games and the World Series. Today, watch Game three of the Al Division series when Lowberg, Logan Gilbert and the Seattle Mariners face Jack Flawered in the Detroit Tigers. The series is tied at one game apiece. As the series shifts to the Motor City at four pm Eastern, Then don't miss Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees looking to avoid elimination like the Phillies against Vladimir Guerrero Junior and the Toronto Blue Jays at eight pm Eastern. Expect the Bronx to be rocking. Stream both games on Fox one from MLB postseason to NFL on Fox to Big Noon Saturdays with Fox One you get it All Live. Start your seven day free trial today. Offers are subject to change. Go to foxwe dot com for complete terms and conditions. Fox one streaming now. Guys, so many different things have happened in Game two. I wanted to mention the Big Boys. Phillies top three hitters Turner, Schwarber, and Harper are combined two for twenty one with eleven strikeouts in the first two games of the NLDS. They do not have an extra base hit going back to the regular season. Kyle Schwarber's OH for twenty one with thirteen strikeouts in this last six game games. I think I saw this last night. I think his career worst HITLE streak is like an over twenty two. He's also over eighteen in his past five postseason games, dating the last year's NLDS against the Mets, so he's in a bad spot the Phillies. In Bryce Harper's career postseason eleven zero games that he homers, they're one and nine in games that he doesn't homer.

00:08:23
Speaker 3: There was a situation Mondy night sixth inning that just was begging for some bedlam at the bank, and like Rubin said earlier, it doesn't feel like that exists anymore. I'm talking with Harper at the plate. He's up there with two men on base against. Now it strikes out.

00:08:42
Speaker 4: Break and pitch off the plate.

00:08:44
Speaker 3: Well off the plate, trying to do too much?

00:08:46
Speaker 2: Yeah, and well off the plate.

00:08:49
Speaker 1: Rob Thompson said that after game two they think these guys are trying to do too much.

00:08:56
Speaker 2: You know, they probably are.

00:08:58
Speaker 1: You know, Harper has said after both games games missing too many hit able pitches, So he clearly thinks that he's letting some mistakes go by. I know for sure in game one there were some pitches that he probably put him in the cage against. That pitch over and over he probably does damage against it, did not do it the other night.

00:09:17
Speaker 2: There's a lot of plays kind of stick out.

00:09:21
Speaker 1: I don't know where you guys want to start, but let's maybe start at the very end the wheel play.

00:09:28
Speaker 4: So let's start with the one play in a latter part of the game where they could have cut the Dodgers down playing with the infield in. Kirk Ring comes into the game, he makes a couple of really good pitches, actually almost gets out of the inning, and I think this is really really big ground ball to Turner.

00:09:49
Speaker 2: He makes a very athletic play.

00:09:51
Speaker 4: He's running a little bit across his throws and it has to make a throw across his body a little bit to ask Hernandez breaks immediately pond contact. If he throws the ball one foot to JT's left, the man is out at the plate. He doesn't. He pulls him to the right. He has to reach for the ball and make the tag. He's really good at it.

00:10:15
Speaker 2: JT is. That is a huge, huge play.

00:10:20
Speaker 4: If that play is made, then they only score what one run than that inning, and it's basically they're out of it.

00:10:28
Speaker 2: But he doesn't make that play.

00:10:30
Speaker 4: And then the next guy, the guess guy, pops up.

00:10:34
Speaker 2: I believe he gets a pop up.

00:10:36
Speaker 4: Does a nice job there, and then he and then he spins a breaking ball for a first pitch. It's obvious that Smith is looking for and he hits the base sit to drive in two more runs. That was a gigantic play, and the Phillies didn't make the play. Not an easy play, but a play that can be made. Not an easy play, but the Phillies didn't make it.

00:10:59
Speaker 3: One more thing, about that play. And you're right, that was so pivotal. That was a broken background ball. If that that doesn't break it gets to Turner a split second earlier, and maybe he you know, that affects the timing on the play. No, it's it slowed down because it was a broken bat.

00:11:19
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's charged hard again.

00:11:23
Speaker 4: I mean he charged hard, made a good athletic play, just pulled the throw, pulled him to the first base side just enough for ta Oscar or Nanas to get it.

00:11:33
Speaker 1: There was a lot of lamenting of those little tiny moments, and and Turner last night was asked about that play, and and he said, because his momentum was carrying him to the first he said, normal, he ideally would try to maybe kind of side arm a little bit or drop it, but because he was moving towards the line, he kind of had overhanded. And you know, he said, you know, so he was kind of lamenting how that play developed. And you know, I'm sure he's running through his had if I could have just done this or that. Maybe little means a lot. Little means a lot means a lot.

00:12:07
Speaker 4: In the playoffs, man, one little play like that can change the whole dynamic. And that's what happened.

00:12:14
Speaker 2: And when you talked about the wheel play, well.

00:12:17
Speaker 1: Rubin, I want to ask you real quick, since you coached outfielders, Uh, how about the play that.

00:12:24
Speaker 2: Led to that.

00:12:26
Speaker 1: Freddy Freeman's double to right field. He does not stop running, He goes from he goes from home to second. Castianis gets gets the ball and he just kind of just throws at the first base. Now, Nick after the game said he did not expect Freddy to run to second base, and he said, I didn't hear any of my teammates yelling to throw to second base, he said, so, he said he was kind of surprised by it. He said it was a great base running play by Freddy Freeman. I've never played the outfield, obviously, if.

00:12:59
Speaker 5: Your first thought is, especially if there's a man on first base, if the ball gets passed you, that's one thing man on first base, you get the ball in as quickly as you possibly can to second base.

00:13:09
Speaker 4: You want to keep the I always feel like you want to keep the double play in order. That was the one really important piece of being an outfielders. Always, at the end of the day, keep the double play in order. You come up firing the second base. There are situations where if the runner is a phenomenal runner, as somebody who can really really run, then you have to be careful about throwing a second base such that that particular runner could score on a throw back to second base. That matter, that that runner from first base could do that. But in this case, taskarnanis is not that guy. So I mean, you spin and you fire at second base, and you never never assume that the guy is not going to go. You always try to keep that double play in order.

00:14:01
Speaker 2: Yeah, it didn't happen. Yeah, just made that surprised. I didn't.

00:14:05
Speaker 4: I saw I was actually not in the ballpark at the time, and I saw the when when the when the bass hit came. I thought that at the end of the play was first and third, and I looked up. I said, oh my my word, it's second. And how did that happen? Because he had cut off the ball. It wasn't like you didn't cut it off.

00:14:28
Speaker 1: We were we were all surprised that Freddy Freddy went to home the second.

00:14:32
Speaker 4: But not a great outfield play as simple as that, and those little little means a lot.

00:14:36
Speaker 3: Guys, there's a magnified in October. These players happened, happened during the year. Uh, they're magnified at this time of the year. They they they you know, they break.

00:14:46
Speaker 1: Your heart absolutely.

00:14:48
Speaker 2: So now let's go to the ninth inning.

00:14:51
Speaker 1: Talked a lot about CASTI owns already and then man, they get a couple of guys on and Nick cast throws his bad head out.

00:14:59
Speaker 2: Boom sends on the left field. He hauls.

00:15:02
Speaker 1: Asked the second base, he said, I don't know.

00:15:04
Speaker 2: He's like Pocket didn't tell me to stop.

00:15:06
Speaker 1: I got caught up in the moment and I decided to run my butt off the second base barely makes it, but he made it.

00:15:16
Speaker 2: He barely made it, but he made it. So two strange things.

00:15:19
Speaker 4: So he said that his teammates didn't tell him to throw the second base. First of all, you can't hear anything out there, and you have to know what to do with the baseball before before something happens, you anticipate that. And as a batter runner, once you hit the baseball and you're turning, you can see the play in front of you. He is very fortunate that the swipe tag went in front of his hand instead of on his hand. And I mean Listen, you got to give him a lot of credit for putting the ball in play, because other guys on the team don't put the ball in play. But on that situation, he just touched it and guess what happened. It doubled down the left field line for fortunate. That is not Paco's responsibility to tell him to stop. That is once, once you're a base runner, you have the responsibility to do what you gotta do. So I will tell you as a first base coach, I'm not telling a guy to stop.

00:16:13
Speaker 2: That's his job.

00:16:15
Speaker 4: He has to, you know, make his own decisions.

00:16:18
Speaker 2: So he makes it.

00:16:19
Speaker 1: He makes it, and the crowd is finally going, all right, please, here we go.

00:16:25
Speaker 2: They were roaring, they were rocking. They were ready for a big hit.

00:16:29
Speaker 1: Bryce and Stott comes up and bunce the ball off the third baseline wheel play executed to perfection. The Dodgers is saying after the game that they talked about that obviously running.

00:16:41
Speaker 2: I think Max Munsey brought up the day.

00:16:43
Speaker 1: He's like, let's run the wheel play here, and they were just like Freddie Freeman, I saw the quote.

00:16:49
Speaker 2: He's like this is He's.

00:16:51
Speaker 1: Like a lot of times in spring training, you work on stuff and it literally never happens all year. You're like, all right, today we're running, we're working on the wheel play fellas, all right, never never do it, never execute it, and then they just execute it to perfection in Game two and the ninth inning of the NLDS.

00:17:09
Speaker 2: What do we think of the play?

00:17:10
Speaker 1: What do we think of the decision for on Stott to bunt instead of swinging away all that stuff?

00:17:17
Speaker 3: I mean a lo out there. The Dodgers. Roberts said, they don't even practice it in the spring training.

00:17:21
Speaker 2: Oh he said that.

00:17:22
Speaker 3: Okay, he said that in his postgame press conference. Oh, we don't even practice that. Well, I'll tell you what Max mounts. He looked like he knew it like the back of his hand. Mookie. You know who knows if he's eving a natural shortstop. He plays everywhere. He he just you know, was brilliant on that play, you know, beating Castianos to the back, getting the tag down, making the catching the ball, getting the tag down. There was so much there, you know, the middle of the fields open. Stott can slash when he sees that play on he he doesn't. Thompson mentioned that Stott said he was committed to the bunk because that was the sign that was that was put on. They could have. You know, here's another thing, Mookie outruns Catstians to the bag. With a full roster, maybe they can pinch run. But Bader's gonna tight hamstring or a tight grind, so and he's gonna bat and they can't pinch run because they need Western Wilson to pick him up. So the bench got really short. They you know, only had Raphael march on there. There was just all these little things just piled up against them. Dodgers made a great play. Phillies didn't have a fleet footed guy on second base, and it just all kind of blew up on them. But you have to credit the Dodgers for being proactive and making a great play.

00:18:35
Speaker 4: And so the other thing I'll say about this, the few things that I'll say about this is this starts a long time ago. We talked about the roster, and I am convinced that you do not need twelve pitchers on a five game series.

00:18:52
Speaker 2: If you have an extra man to play, you.

00:18:56
Speaker 4: Can bring a Johann Rojas or whoever that is, someone who can run off the bench. Stubby could have been Stubbs, could have been Aiden Miller, it could have been anybody that they could have utilized in that situation, and they couldn't because they had to hold West and Wilson because they knew that Vader can't run right. It makes it a problem and makes it a problem they can't pincher on the guy. He gets a horrendous jump off of second bait like an he was out by a lot, wasn't a by a little? And you know you got to give you know, the Dodgers credit. They made the plays when you have to make the plays, and the Phillies didn't make the plays. They got the base hits when they had to get the base hits. Will Smith has a broken freakin' arm and gets a two out base hit to help them win the game, basically, and the Phillies haven't been able to capitalize on any big bass hits or make the plays that are necessary. And in a postseason where you have a talent level that's very very close, you gotta make the plays. And if you don't make the plays and you don't get the hits, you don't win the games.

00:20:15
Speaker 1: Well, and let me just say this, they're gonna have that same roster in game three, So these same situations could pop up again. Maybe they don't. Maybe maybe the top of the order finally goes off. They hit four home runs at Dodger Stadium in Game three, they hit a bunch more in game game four, and they come back to Philly and Harrison Bader starts feeling better can play the field. I don't know, but they're gonna have that those same roster restrictions. You're right, Rubin. You know, think of how many times the Phillies have played in the DS and have they have they used their long man.

00:20:49
Speaker 2: They got too long men, they got they got.

00:20:52
Speaker 1: Three long Menza.

00:20:55
Speaker 4: Also they have three guys that are have been riding the pine.

00:20:58
Speaker 1: Yeah right.

00:20:59
Speaker 4: I never could understand why. I could never understand. I mean, we used to play with nine pictures. I don't know, there's always any text. I don't ever, I don't understand it. I don't get it. I don't you can go with nine pictures.

00:21:13
Speaker 1: And I you know, Rob has said in the past, you know, we want a length guy for you know, because the extra inning rules are different.

00:21:20
Speaker 2: But you're right, like.

00:21:22
Speaker 1: To shorthand yourself for a situation like last night, because maybe there's going to be a sixteen seventeen inning game.

00:21:29
Speaker 2: I think it's a mistake.

00:21:30
Speaker 4: I think it's a mistake, and it cost them a game yet, and it may cost them a series.

00:21:35
Speaker 3: Yeah, the Red Sox when Dombrowski was there, he won a World Series in an eighteen inning game by having evolved give him length. I mean, maybe that's in the back of their mind, but it just seems to me that Bueler, Taiwan and Nola are you know, duplicates where now we don't they have a plan for Nola. So it's just, uh, it really kind of came back to bite them last night.

00:22:02
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00:23:13
Speaker 1: The Philly Show is brought to you today by Fox one. So let's let's close on this. We have to look ahead a little bit to game three, and I'm in the clubhouse talking to you know, different players, Ryan kirk Ring, you know, talking to players after the game, and all of a sudden, somebody comes in and goes Aaron Nola's starting Game three, like Eron Nola's starting Game three, there's.

00:23:38
Speaker 4: Gotta be something wrong with There's got to be something wrong with Rangers, Suarez.

00:23:43
Speaker 1: It doesn't make any sense through none of us, none of it.

00:23:47
Speaker 2: I don't get it.

00:23:48
Speaker 3: You hear this all the time, like you hear this aholl time, especially like basketball and football, you've got to get the ball into your best player's hands. There's a chance that one of their best players is never going to get the ball, one of the best pitchers never gonna ball in his hands. I mean, with the game, with the series, you know, still up the raps. I mean, suppose Nola comes out and gives it up early, you know, so you're gonna put Ranger in this, you know, behind a couple of runs, three four runs. I don't know. I just it's a total head scratcher. They say is healthy. I just don't get it. To me. He had to have the ball, and he had one of the first two games.

00:24:23
Speaker 4: It has I mean, he I I don't really understand what's going on. I've been saying it. I don't know this for a fact, but I gotta believe that there's either one he's got some kind of issue or two. I just don't know what's going on behind closed doors on this one, because he's one of the better pitchers in the history of the game postseason play, why not pitch him in one of the games that were tight.

00:24:55
Speaker 2: Prior.

00:24:55
Speaker 4: If you're gonna have Lola be the guy who's gonna start. I just don't understand what's happening other than the fact that there's got to be something physically wrong with the man and they're holding that back obviously for competitive reasons.

00:25:11
Speaker 3: It just seems incredibly risky with your season on the line. You look, this is the guy with seventeen starts in era over six, was mostly ineffective or injured all season, and to put him out there in a savior season situation and maybe like a savior job situation. You know, every button Rob is pushed. This series has you know, has known up, has not worked, has blown up, And this is another one that if it doesn't work, well, you're going home for the winter, and now you can be looking at at some kind of changes here. It's just I agree with you. It just feels like there's more to this because they're not putting the ball in that guy's hands, and he helped them get here.

00:25:56
Speaker 1: And we were talking a lot. We We spent two shows talking about those pitching that in Game one, and we talked about the idea that you know, the Philly said Rangers Suarez was there in the early innings in case something happened to Sanchez and he was going to be available in high leverage situations in game two, and so we kind of understood the Game one stuff.

00:26:16
Speaker 4: Has he even warmed up right the mount there's something physically wrong with the guy. I'm convinced to that. And listen, I can understand if they're trying to keep that under closed doors, but I don't get it.

00:26:29
Speaker 3: And just to be clear, Rob was asked specifically, is he healthy?

00:26:32
Speaker 4: Oh?

00:26:32
Speaker 3: Yes, he says, Ranger is going to be the guy coming in behind Nola. We will see. This is added an incredibly intriguing subplot to all.

00:26:41
Speaker 2: Of this, no doubt really.

00:26:44
Speaker 1: I mean, there's so much to unpack with this series and what's going to happen in Game three. They got a long flight out there. Who knows what's going to happen. But I did like what Kyle Schwarber had to say to kind of wrap this up. He said, Uh, We're gonna fly out there, gonna think a lot about what's happened these first two games. We're gonna look at some video, We're gonna try to make some adjustments. And he's like, hopefully you know, and and the goal is to go out there. He's like, we're coming back from La regardless. Let's let's come back with some meaning, with something to play for rather than just come on coming home because our season ended.

00:27:18
Speaker 4: So that may have been the last time the fans sees qualite Boar were live.

00:27:23
Speaker 2: Yeah, just uniform.

00:27:25
Speaker 3: A lot to consider because this could you know, who knows he might be going. They got Rangers a free agent. JT's a free agent. And this we said this when they were winning this summer that it feels like they need to shake up. They need change this winter, even when things were going good, even if things go good, they need to make changes. To me, this is just going to hasten uh those types of changes and make it more drastic and maybe more you know, wide ranging.

00:27:52
Speaker 2: Absolutely so.

00:27:53
Speaker 1: Game three Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium Aaron Nola risingly against Yoshinobu Yamamoto. We will be back to talk about Game three, good or bad or ugly or otherwise on Thursday morning.

00:28:14
Speaker 3: Smelling Lada, guys smelling Yip.

00:28:16
Speaker 1: The Philly Show is brought to you by the Foul Territory Network. Subscribe to The Philly Show on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts.