Skip to content

The best, worst, and most viral moments from the broadcast of Phillies-Dodgers Game 1 of NLDS

From the standing ovation for Zack Wheeler to Phillies fans' disgust with Teoscar Hernández's three-run homer, Game 1 was full of emotion.

The Phillies' Nick Castellanos looks on after hitting into an inning-ending double play in the seventh.
The Phillies' Nick Castellanos looks on after hitting into an inning-ending double play in the seventh.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer

The Dodgers took a 1-0 series lead in their National League Division Series with a 5-3 victory over the Phillies on Saturday at Citizens Bank Park. Game 2 is set for 6:08 p.m. Monday.

Here are some of the best and worst moments from the Phillies-Dodgers broadcast ...

Phillies and Dodgers introductions

Although the Phillies and Dodgers introductions weren’t included in Saturday’s broadcast, it’s important to make a note of both.

Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler was included in the pregame introductions, wearing his uniform for the first time since Aug. 16, when he was diagnosed with a blood clot. Wheeler was welcomed by fans with a standing ovation as he joined the rest of the team on the first base line.

Fans kept that same energy rolling into the Dodgers pregame introductions, with boos and a “Let’s go Phillies” chant drowning them out.

Everybody loves Cris

Cy Young Award candidate Cristopher Sánchez got off to a hot start. The left-handed pitcher went head-to-head with Dodgers leadoff hitter Shohei Ohtani to start the game. The boos circulating through the Bank could easily be heard throughout the broadcast.

A Sánchez 95-mph fastball started things off as he struck out Ohtani during his first at-bat.

Sanchez’s success continued throughout the night. He pitched five shutout innings and had eight strikeouts, including three of Ohtani.

Realmuto gets a reaction from the crowd

In the second, with no outs and Alec Bohm on second and Brandon Marsh on first, Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto ripped a two-run triple, the first of his postseason career, to give the Phillies a 2-0 lead. Harrison Bader’s sacrifice fly scored Realmuto for a 3-0 lead.

Take a look at Realmuto’s triple.

Here’s the crowd’s reaction.

That second inning marked the first runs Ohtani has allowed since Aug. 27, a span of four starts.

Realmuto’s triple against the five-time All-Star even caught the attention of former Eagles center Jason Kelce.

We see you, Realmuto.

‘What a gift’

Before leaving the game with what Rob Thomson later described as “groin tightness,” Bader made some crucial plays on offense and defense — from his second-inning sacrifice fly to his fifth-inning diving grab of a line drive.

However, the highlight of the night from the 31-year-old happened moments after he was hit by a pitch in the fifth inning. The camera panned to the Phillies dugout, which showed Bohm and Marsh clapping and mouthing one of Bader’s catchphrases: “What a gift.”

The phrase has clearly been catching on. In September, Garrett Stubbs even designed a T-shirt with the phrase and passed them out to his teammates. Now, it’s made its way to Red October.

Hernández answers back

The Phillies were leading 3-2 in the seventh inning when Teoscar Hernández stepped to the plate with Matt Strahm on the mound. As he did in Game 1 of the Dodgers’ wild-card series with the Reds when he hit two homers, Hernández came up big on Saturday with his three-run homer. The Dodgers never looked back.