Phillies feel the heat | Sports Daily Newsletter

A must-win game for the Phillies? This would qualify. If they cannot find a way past the Dodgers tonight, they’ll head to L.A. with a 2-0 deficit in the best-of-five NL Division Series.

Good thing it wasn’t a must-win game Sunday for the Eagles, who coughed up 18 straight points in a loss to the Broncos, but more on that later in this newsletter.

The Phillies found themselves in this predicament after a loss in Game 1 on Saturday night, when Rob Thomson came under fire for the way he handled the pitchers.

And so it falls on Jesús Luzardo, who’ll start for the Phillies against the Dodgers’ Blake Snell tonight (6:08, TBS). Thomson tried to find a path to closer Jhoan Duran in Game 1 by using David Robertson and Matt Strahm, and the Dodgers blew up that plan with one homer from Teoscar Hernández.

Maybe it makes sense for Thomson to ride Luzardo as long as he can, Scott Lauber writes. When the Phillies allowed Luzardo to go three times through a batting order this season, he held hitters to a .189 average and .556 OPS. If the game is close in the sixth and seventh innings, Luzardo might be a better option to build a bridge to Duran than using a reliever.

The Phillies got some good news on center fielder Harrison Bader, who pulled himself out of Saturday’s game after he felt tightness in his groin. Imaging revealed no tear or major strain, and Thomson said the team would know more about Bader’s availability today.

It would help the Phillies’ cause, of course, if the top of their order starts producing. Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber, and Bryce Harper went 1-for-11 with six strikeouts in Game 1. Start your analysis there, David Murphy writes.

Also from Murphy, among the questions for the Phillies tonight: What will the outfield look like if Bader is out? Is there a Plan B in the bullpen? And Is this the end of an era at Citizens Bank Park?

Sign up for the Extra Innings in Red October newsletter

Matt Breen has all the playoff storylines covered every morning during Red October — even if it stretches into November — delivered right to your inbox. Sign up to get this free newsletter.

— Jim Swan, @phillysport, sports.daily@inquirer.com.

If someone forwarded you this email, sign up for free here.

❓What was the Eagles’ biggest problem in their first loss? Email us back for a chance to be featured in the newsletter.

Eagles linebacker Zack Baun put it succinctly after the Eagles suffered their first loss, 21-17, to the Denver Broncos at the Linc:

“If you make mistakes, and you habitually are making mistakes, then they’re going to come back to bite you in the butt. If we don’t get those corrected, it’s going to hurt us, and today it did.

Penalties — some that were called and some that weren’t — were critical in the Eagles’ loss. Jeff Neiburg reviews the calls and non-calls that will have sports-radio callers steaming.

Guard Landon Dickerson left the game with an ankle injury, putting his availability for Thursday’s game against the New York Giants in question.

The Birds bent over backward to make A.J. Brown happy in this game, Marcus Hayes writes, but they lost because Jalen Hurts isn’t consistently good enough.

Hurts had another Jekyll and Hyde outing, Jeff McLane writes in his grades on the game.

McLane also dives into the story behind Saquon Barkley’s career-low nine touches.

Mike Sielski wonders: Why did this loss one feel so … ominous? Maybe because these Birds are starting to feel like the 2023 Eagles, a team that fell flat one year after a Super Bowl season.

You can find more coverage of Sunday’s game here.

Russian winger Matvei Michkov cleared plenty of obstacles at age 19 last season, his first in the NHL. The sophomore slump has afflicted many a talented player, but Michkov will have new coach Rick Tocchet and his teammates in his corner, Jackie Spiegel writes as we begin our daily Flyers season preview.

On Sunday, the Flyers finally got Ryan Ellis’ contract off the books in a trade with the San Jose Sharks.

The Union captured the second Supporters’ Shield in team history on Saturday with a thrilling 1-0 victory against New York City FC. Alejandro Bedoya, Andre Blake, and Mikael Uhre played big roles on a memorable night at Subaru Park.

Penn State plummeted from No. 7 all the way out of the Associated Press Top 25 rankings after a stunning 42-37 loss at previously winless UCLA. “We did not come out with the right energy to start the game,” coach James Franklin said. “That is my responsibility, and I did not get it done.”

Penn State is unranked for the first time since September 2022.

Elsewhere in college football:

Oct. 6, 2010: Roy Halladay of the Phillies threw the second postseason no-hitter in major league history, beating the Cincinnati Reds, 4-0, in the National League Division Series. It was Halladay’s first playoff appearance and his second no-hitter of the season.

We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Scott Lauber, Lochlahn March, David Murphy, Jeff McLane, Olivia Reiner, Jeff Neiburg, Marcus Hayes, Mike Sielski, Jonathan Tannenwald, Jackie Spiegel, Keith Pompey, Greg Finberg, Sean McKeown, Ryan Mack, and Katie Lewis.

By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirer’s Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.

What a lost weekend that was, eh? At least the weather was a winner — and the Union. I’ll see you in Tuesday’s newsletter. — Jim