Matt Strahm’s slider strikes out Shohei Ohtani, helps preserve a Phillies win over the Dodgers

When the bullpen door opened in the seventh inning Wednesday night, two runners were on base with one out. The Phillies led by two runs. Oh, and the best player in baseball stood at home plate.

It was Sho-Time.

And then, Matt Strahm stole it.

Because if the script usually calls for Shohei Ohtani to bang a go-ahead home run, well, Strahm delivered a twist — or, more to the point, two hellacious sliders. Ohtani took two of the ugliest hacks you’ll see him take, including the one that dislodged his helmet and struck him out.

“That’s kind of the pitch that I’ve developed in my time here as a Phillie,” Strahm said later, after the Phillies edged the Dodgers, 4-3 — with Bryce Harper out with a bruised left hand — to win a series that they can sweep Thursday night. “I’ll throw it to anyone.”

Sure, but this wasn’t anyone. Strahm concedes that. He isn’t one to give too much credit to a hitter. Do that, and you’re probably not long for the big leagues. Strahm is in his ninth season. He’s having the year of his life. He’s an All-Star for the first time — at age 32.

And yet ...

“I mean, he’s one of the greatest ever to pick up a bat,” Strahm said. “It’s cool.”

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File this away, then, as an at-bat — and an outcome — that Strahm won’t forget. Put it right there with Aug. 28, 2016, his rookie season with the Royals, when he came into a game at Fenway Park and faced David Ortiz with the bases loaded.

“One of the core memories of my big-league career,” he said. “It was like a 114-mph ground-ball double play.”

And the pitch that got Big Papi out?

“I remember it vividly,” Strahm said. “Drew Butera called a curveball; I shook him. Called a curveball again; I shook him. He turned his head sideways, gave me the heater, and that’s what I wanted.”

Years from now, Strahm will recall the sequence to Ohtani. Sinker for a called strike. Slider for a swing and miss. Fastball low and away that Ohtani laid off. Then back to the slider.

Good night.

“With the big slider that he can throw, and he can locate his fastball, I just thought it was good matchup,” Thomson said. “It was huge. And then we had to get [Teoscar] Hernández, too. Another really good hitter. And he did that.”

And when Strahm got Hernández to fly to right field, he pumped his fist. Consider the lead protected — and Strahm’s peers justified for voting him into the All-Star Game, a rare honor for a non-closer reliever.

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“It still doesn’t feel real,” Strahm said. “Maybe once I get a locker in Texas then it’ll set in.”

Two winters ago, the Phillies signed Strahm to a two-year, $15 million contract that was viewed by some rivals as an overpay. It was actually a steal. The lefty has a 2.80 ERA and 154 strikeouts in 122⅓ innings, including a 1.56 mark this season. He signed an extension at the end of spring training.

Strahm recorded the biggest outs in the Phillies’ 60th victory. They beat the shorthanded Dodgers with a familiar formula. They jumped to a first-inning lead (Kyle Schwarber hit a leadoff homer), capitalized on a miscue, and got a strong outing from the starting pitcher (Cristopher Sánchez) before the bullpen made it hold up.

Rinse, repeat, and hang another ‘W’ on the best record in baseball before 42,912 patrons, the 12th consecutive sold-out game at Citizens Bank Park.

Ninety-two games down, four to go until the All-Star break, this much is clear: It takes a nearly perfect game to beat the Phillies, especially at home, where they are 35-13. Because they are as ruthless as they are talented. They seize upon mistakes and rarely miss taking advantage.

So, when Dodgers center fielder Andy Pages lost a ball in the lights that went for a leadoff triple for Whit Merrifield in the fifth inning of a 2-2 game, well, guess what happened. One out from leaving Merrifield on third, Trea Turner beat out an infield single to drive in the go-ahead run.

Turner went to third on Alec Bohm’s double and scored when Bryson Stott legged out an infield single for a 4-2 lead.

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Sánchez allowed two runs in six innings, a solid rebound from a Fourth of July dud in Chicago. There might have been a reason for that outlier start. Thomson divulged that Sánchez was sick and pitched with a fever.

“It was pretty bad,” Sánchez said through a team interpreter. “My body hurt. I had a sore throat. I decided myself that I wanted to go pitch. But I was pretty bad.”

Sánchez was much better against the Dodgers, setting the stage for the bullpen to nail down the final nine outs, none bigger than Strahm’s strikeout of Ohtani.

“You saw it all come out after Hernández,” Strahm said. “You know the situation, you know your job. I’m in here to get two outs. Yeah, it’s Ohtani for the first one, but I’ve got to make sure I get that second one. The second one is the most important. It felt good.”

For Strahm, it was unforgettable, too.