Don’t blame Don Mattingly for the Phillies’ Game 1 collapse; can the season be saved?
Monday could have been avoided had the Phils added more last winter or been more aggressive at the trade deadline.
What was Don Mattingly supposed to do?
He was right Tuesday to use Johan Duran in the seventh inning to protect a one-run lead against the top of Atlanta’s lineup in their 5-3 loss in Game 1 of their wild-card playoff series. The Phillies couldn’t get to the ninth inning unless they got through the seventh, and Duran needed just 12 pitches. That inning against Drake Baldwin and Ronald Acuna Jr. was the highest-leverage situation of the game. Duran was the right pitcher for that spot.
Mattingly’s decision to send Duran back for the eighth is fair to criticize until you think about the manager’s other options.
» READ MORE: Hayes: Don Mattingly puts his future with the Phillies in peril as his strategy with Jhoan Duran backfires
The Phillies ignored their bullpen all season, giving Mattingly one option on Monday: be desperate. A properly constructed roster doesn’t force the manager to use the closer in the seventh inning and consider using that pitcher for nine outs. Other playoff teams have more than one trusted high-leverage arm. That’s the hand Mattingly was dealt on Monday. Somehow it almost worked.
Duran recorded the first two outs of the eighth on three pitches and then almost finished the inning on an 85.5 mph grounder. If Trea Turner makes that play, no one is questioning Duran in the eighth. Then the collapse happened. But who should Mattingly have used in the eighth?
Jonathan Bowlan hasn’t pitched in two weeks and had allowed runs in five of six appearances before going to the injured list. Andrew Painter’s only two relief appearances were as a bulk reliever following an opener. It would’ve been foolish to tap Painter there after Duran sped through the seventh. José Alvarado? We’ve seen that before. It wasn’t conventional but asking Duran to pitch a second inning was the right choice, especially in the postseason.
The Phils’ big splash this winter was Brad Keller, who struggled before undergoing Tommy John surgery that will likely cost him next season. They acknowledged their bullpen need at the trade deadline by adding Brooks Raley, who pitched so poorly he was left off the postseason roster. The other additions last winter were names you probably already forgot. The Phillies have a $320 million payroll yet tried to build their bullpen off Temu. So don’t blame Mattingly on Monday for trusting his only option.
Monday could have been avoided had the Phils added more last winter or been more aggressive at the trade deadline. It also could have been avoided if Zack Wheeler didn’t have to start Sunday in Game 162. They could’ve used Wheeler and Luzardo to steal Game 1. But Wheeler’s unavailable unless the Phils win Game 2 on Wednesday. Credit the bullpen there, too. One less seventh-inning meltdown and the Phils could’ve secured a playoff berth before the season’s final day.
» READ MORE: Short of a Cristopher Sánchez complete game, the Phillies will again face the issue that cost them Game 1
I’m still thinking about …
How the Phillies have three catchers on their postseason roster. What do you do with three catchers in a three-game series? That’s like the Eagles dressing four quarterbacks. The construction of the bullpen got a lot of attention after Monday’s loss, but don’t overlook how a team with a $320 million payroll started Derek Hill, Bryan De La Cruz, and Edmundo Sosa at No. 5, 6, and 8 while Atlanta had Michael Harris II, Ozzie Albies, and Austin Riley hitting 5-7.
We’ll always wonder…
What would have happened had Turner made that play in the eighth inning? It was difficult, but it was the play I envisioned Turner making when the Phillies signed him to that $300 million contract. I thought the Phillies were signing a future MVP shortstop who could do everything. I’ve never been more underwhelmed by a Philadelphia athlete. Tuesday was just another chapter.
It’s going to be tough to…
Beat Tyler Mahle on Wednesday. He faced the Phillies twice in six days earlier this month, allowing one earned run in 13 innings as the Braves started to run away with the division. He struggled in San Francisco but was much better there after returning from the injured list in late June and blooming into a smart buy-low candidate at the trade deadline.
He dominated the Phillies by mostly throwing a fastball and splitter as he simplified his arsenal since joining the Braves. He doesn’t throw hard but has a ground-ball rate similar to Jesús Luzardo and induced 19 groundouts over those two starts against the Phils. He’ll be looking for that weak contact again.
But I still think…
Cristopher Sánchez can save the season. He’s still one of the best pitchers in baseball and can win you a playoff game. But that loss was a gut punch. The Phils suffered playoff gut punches in Atlanta in 2022 and 2023 and won the series. But they had a day off after both of those losses before regrouping at home in front of a crazy crowd. But there’s no bat spike without Rhys Hoskins misplaying that ball in Game 2. And there’s no stare down without Bryce Harper being caught on the base paths. The Phillies have responded before. They’ll just have to recover quicker this time. They have the pitcher to do it.
