Down Early and Against All Odds, the Philadelphia Phillies Take Game 1 Against Astros
There was no panic. Only calm.
And an unbreakable belief that despite being down 5-0 against the best team in the American League, they still had a chance.
That was the Philadelphia Phillies' dugout after the third inning in which starter Aaron Nola had just allowed five runs and the Phillies lineup was hitless.
It doesn't take an entire MLB analytic department to crunch those numbers and see that Philadelphia wasn't supposed to win the game at that point.
But don't tell them that.
With 18 outs left in the ballgame for the Phillies, they came up to bat in the fourth inning.
Singles from Rhys Hoskins, Bryce Harper, Nick Castellanos, and a huge double from Alec Bohm scored three runs.
No huge home runs, no theatrics, just simple base-to-base and pass-the-baton-type baseball.
5-3. 15 outs.
The top of the fifth began with an ever-important Brandon Marsh double. Marsh had seemed lost at the plate prior to the hit, which snapped an 0-for-16 slump he was mired in.
Kyle Schwarber then drew a walk, which brought catcher J.T. Realmuto to the plate.
For the first of two times on Friday evening, Realmuto played hero in the fifth. A sharply hit double scored both Marsh and Schwarber to tie the ballgame, 5-5.
The Phillies had fought all the way back against AL Cy Young candidate Justin Verlander to erase what seemed to be an insurmountable deficit. But the pitching would need to hold up its end of the bargain if Philadelphia was going to have any chance.
Nola struggled mightily on Friday night. His evening was done after 4.1 innings and five earned runs. It's a far cry from his previous postseason outings.
"Nola looked like he had a little trouble working out of the stretch today," said Manager Rob Thomson. "He's got to work on that. But when he was in the windup he was pretty good, actually."
Clearly, Nola seemed uncomfortable with runners on the basepaths, which he had to contend with regularly. But, he was able to get the first out in the fifth inning before giving way to José Alvarado.
If you thought the fifth inning was an odd time to bring your most trusted reliever, don't worry, so did nearly everyone else. But in hindsight, it is a masterclass in perfect game and bullpen management.
With the momentum swinging back in the Phillies' favor after a three-run fourth inning, Philadelphia could not allow Houston to plate any runs in this situation.
With Yordan Álvarez, Alex Bregman, and Kyle Tucker all due up, Thomson needed his big lefty to get through the heart of the Houston Astros' order.
This was the spot.
Alvarado delivered. His performance in the biggest spot of the game seemed like the turning point for the Phillies. If not every bit of momentum was on Philadelphia's side, it was now.
For the next four innings, the game remained tied with neither team able to create any offense off of the other's bullpen.
The stalemate turned into extra innings, in large part due to another sliding catch by Nick Castellanos in the bottom of the ninth to ensure the Astros didn't walk-off Game 1.
In the top of the 10th, the stalemate was over.
Realmuto, leading off, got just enough of the baseball to send it over Tucker's head into the right field stands to make it 6-5.
David Robertson was called in to try for the save and was successful despite putting two runners in scoring position. It wasn't pretty, but the job got done.
The Philadelphia Phillies had done it. Against all odds, this team battled back from a 5-0 deficit against arguably the best team on paper in MLB, and won. In the World Series.
They just don't quit. They never feel like they are out of a game. It is this special quality that helps explain why this team is in the position they are currently in.
That, and manager Rob Thomson's acute baseball IQ and situational management. This performance will go down as one of the best by any manager in World Series history.
'I trust anything that man does," said Castellanos. "That's just what he decided to do and it worked. He's the manager and we have, he has the respect and support of all the guys on the diamond."
Sums it up pretty well, huh?
More From SI's Inside The Phillies:
- Phillies Star Bryce Harper Doesn't Hold Back on Thoughts About Joe Girardi
- How Mike Trout Will Join the Phillies
- Could Bryce Harper's Favorite MLB Player Join the Philadelphia Phillies Next Season?
- Why You Should Root for the Philadelphia Phillies to Lose a Few Games
- Phillies Release 2023 Regular Season Schedule
- Have the Philadelphia Phillies Found Their Centerfielder of the Future?
- Could The Phillies Soon Be Playing in Wawa Park?
- How did Philadelphia end up with Citizens Bank Park?
- How the Phillie Phanatic Came to be America's Favorite Sports Mascot
- Picking the Phillies' All-Time Single Season Lineup
Make sure to follow Inside the Phillies on Substack and Twitter!
