Red October kicks off with a 4-1 victory over the Marlins in Game 1 of the wild-card series

Maybe this was how it had to happen.

For the Phillies to finally let go of last year’s postseason, magical as it was, and start authoring a new story Tuesday night, maybe they needed José Alvarado to inherit a lead from Zack Wheeler, hold it, and exorcise the ghost of Game 6 of the World Series.

And what better way, 332 days after that night in Houston, than this: Alvarado struck out Yuli Gurriel — late of last year’s Astros — and stranded two of Wheeler’s runners, including the tying run in scoring position, in the seventh inning of a 4-1 victory over the Marlins in Game 1 of the best-of-three wild-card miniseries.

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A stretch? Maybe. But surely, manager Rob Thomson must have thought about it when he called on Alvarado to replace Wheeler.

“Well, not really ... but I might be lying,” Thomson said, smiling as though he was privy to an inside joke. “No, I just thought, it was a little bit different the last time. Wheels still had a lot of pitches left [in the World Series]. He didn’t have many pitches left, and he threw a lot of pitches in that particular inning. So, I just thought it was the right move, and it worked out.”

Bring on the Braves? Almost. Wheeler’s dominance, timely hits from young outfielders Johan Rojas and Cristian Pache, a hit from all nine starters, solid defense, and Thomson’s bullpen button-pushing has the Phillies on the verge of a divisional round rematch with Atlanta.

First, though, they have two chances to finish off the scrappy but undermanned Marlins, beginning Wednesday night when they send clinchmeister Aaron Nola to the mound at Citizens Bank Park.

“We’ve just got to keep this going, leave no doubt, understand that it’s a really good team over there,” said Bryce Harper, whose helmet-flipping, hair-on-fire sprint from first base capped the scoring in the eighth inning. “It’s nice to be able to win that first one, but we’ve got to be able to take care of business and get it done.”

Wheeler overpowered the Marlins for six innings in a start he had waited 11 months to make. Since spring training, he openly talked about the bitter taste of Game 6, when Thomson lifted him after only 70 pitches and Alvarado gave up a series-clinching homer to Houston’s Yordan Alvarez.

» READ MORE: Nick Castellanos wasn’t ‘flipping us off.’ He was just showing the Phillies how much he wants to win a ring.

Making his return to the postseason, Wheeler couldn’t have been calmer. Before the game, he stood on the top step of the dugout and watched batting practice. Then, he mowed through the Marlins’ lineup twice. His fastball crackled at 98 mph. He threw a wipeout sweeper and a heavy slider. He gave up two hits through six innings and faced one batter over the minimum.

“The story was Wheeler,” Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said. “He was excellent. The sinker/sweeper combination gave us trouble. A lot of weak ground ball contact.”

Indeed, Thomson said Wheeler’s stuff was “as good or better than any other start all year.” Wheeler credited the sold-out crowd of 45,662, which roared as soon as he started walking to the bullpen to warm up.

“I got chills,” he said. “It started right there. I think it just kind of carries into me throwing the baseball. It definitely helps.”

In that sense, from the rally towels that turned the ballpark red to the goosebumps-inducing ceremonial first pitch (injured Rhys Hoskins did the honors this time), it felt like a continuation of last autumn, as though the 11 months between the last postseason game in South Philly and this one never even existed.

But Harper insisted before the game that it’s a new year and a new team. Rojas, the cool rookie center fielder, and Pache, acquired on the eve of opening day and starting in left field because of his defense, were Exhibits A and B of the 2023 Phillies’ superior depth to their 2022 predecessor.

» READ MORE: Rhys Hoskins’ first pitch might be his last act in a Phillies uniform. So he made sure to take it all in.

In his first postseason at-bat, Rojas won a nine-pitch duel with Marlins starter Jesús Luzardo, lined a single to left field, and scored the game’s first run in the third inning.

Pache, who ended the season in a 4-for-35 slumber, delivered an RBI single in the fourth to make it 3-0. He also snared Luis Arraez’s line drive to center field to open the game.

“They’ve been great the whole year for us,” Kyle Schwarber said. “The atmosphere tonight, it’s second to none. When you go out there for a first-timer, go out there and get a big hit, it says a lot.”

And when the Marlins finally got to Wheeler, nickel-and-diming him for one run on a pair of infield hits in the seventh inning, Alvarado took his turn writing a new chapter.

Thomson’s call for Alvarado compelled the Marlins to bring Gurriel off the bench. The hard-throwing lefty got ahead in the count, then uncorked a dirt-diving cutter. As Gurriel waved at it, Alvarado spun on his right foot, clapped his mitt, pumped his arms, and shouted.

» READ MORE: Inside the swing adjustment that accelerated Johan Rojas’ path to the majors with the Phillies

It sure looked cathartic, although Alvarado played it cooler after the game, insisting that he didn’t feel any redemption.

“No, not really,” Alvarado said through a team interpreter. “It’s baseball, what happened before. It’s in the past. I’m focused on 2023. You’ve got to do what it takes to get these guys out. You can’t really be thinking about stuff like that.”

Not even a little bit?

“Look,” Alvarado said, “to me, this is a new year. I don’t even think about last year. It’s a different team. It’s, in my opinion, a better team than last year. The only pitcher that doesn’t give up a homer or a hit is someone that is at home [for the playoffs].”

The Phillies have no intention of going home any time soon. Alvarado, Jeff Hoffman, and closer Craig Kimbrel picked up the final seven outs before “Dancing On My Own,” the Phillies’ 2022 anthem, blared through the ballpark.

» READ MORE: Hayes: Phillies ace Zack Wheeler rebounds from World Series fiasco, aces the Marlins in Game 1 win

OK, so some things about 2022 remain the same.

“Game 1 is huge, especially at home,” Wheeler said. “It’s a big game. You’ve got to get ahead and get that win, especially in a short series.”

And maybe chase away a few demons from the year before.