Phillies Mailbag: Phillies Head West Down 0-2, Facing Elimination

We are back once again with the 97.3 ESPN Phillies Mailbag.   The Phillies face an uphill battle as the series moves to L.A. down 0-2 and facing elimination.  We take your questions about the Phillies each and every Tuesday.

To bunt or not to bunt?
~Mike

I have many thoughts about the controversial play in the ninth inning of Monday's loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in which Bryson Stott bunted with Nick Castellanos as the tying run with no outs.

1. A roster with too many platoons helped create this problem

At the start of the game, righties Edmundo Sosa, Otto Kemp, and Nick Castellanos were in the lineup.   Sosa and Kemp were removed for their left-handed counterparts (Stott and Brandon Marsh).   Therefore at least two bench spots were wasted because their starters were not trusted against the opposite side.

Then what do you know?  Lefties can come in out of the bullpen.   They did not trust Stott to swing the bat, so they went with the bunt.   There was no pinch-hit option for Stott.

2. A pinch runner was absolutely necessary for Stott to bunt

I said to those next to me, "Well, I guess he's not bunting if Castellanos is still out there."   Yet, Stott bunted anyway.   A better baserunner with a better jump might have beat out that ball to third, giving the Phillies first and third with nobody out.

Weston Wilson sat in the dugout.

The argument given to me by some on social media was that Harrison Bader could not run, so they had to save Wilson for later, in the event Bader batted and got a hit.

A little bit of the problem from #1 here; the Phillies had used up the rest of the bench.

But I am philosophically opposed to the idea that the Phillies should not do their best to tie or win the game because of what might happen later.  Yes, if Wilson ran that would mean one of two things: Brandon Marsh had to hit, or, a pitcher would have to pinch-run for Bader in the event he got a hit.

The Phillies did not seem to mind to take chances in game one, which ended with an outfield of Wilson in left, Kepler in center, and Castellanos in right.

Marsh does have poor splits, but he did hit a big three-run home run against Dodgers lefty Justin Wrobleski on the night the Phillies clinched the N.L. East.

And even had Marsh grounded into a double play, the tying run would score.

And at that point, if Bader batted later, then he could have either had a Kirk Gibson moment and walked them off or they run Taijuan Walker, for all I care.

3. Fewer pitchers on the roster in the future would make sense.

Will Walker, Tim Mayza, or Walker Buehler throw a pitch this series?  Do they all have to be there instead of having a dedicated pinch runner?  (Yes, Johan Rojas is hurt; Justin Crawford runs really well, too).

Can the Phillies really come back in this series?
~Andrew

It's true: the Phillies are down 0-2 and the team has never come back from such a deficit.  In any playoff round, ever.  So the odds certainly seem stacked against the Phillies.  But I don't think it's over yet.

I think it works in the Phillies favor that they are going to face back-to-back right-handed starters.  When facing righties, the Phillies tend to have their better lineup on the field.  That means Brandon Marsh, Bryson Stott, and Max Kepler providing better defense and providing better offense.

They may, of course, be without Harrison Bader.  While most Phillies players have a limited number of at bats and not hit much, Bader is 4 for 7 off of Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Phillies Tailgate broke down the stats. The rest of the club is 3 for 19 against Yamamoto.

But the club will prepare carefully against Yamamoto's video and I think that you'll see something come from the likes of Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber tonight.

Then if they get to tomorrow, the Dodgers have not pitched Shohei Ohtani on "normal" rest.  So it looks like Tyler Glasnow is it.  Glasnow pitched just three innings between September 20 and the start of the playoffs.   He gave them 1 2/3 solid innings in Game 1.

But does Glasnow have the stamina to go deep in a game?  If the Phillies can see the Dodgers bullpen between the starters and Roki Sasaki, I think they have a good window to make some things happen.

It's far from a guarantee they'll come back, but the Phillies can at least keep this going some more.  The longer the series goes, I think their chances increase.

Ranger Suarez has been "available" out of the pen in games 1-2, why do you think he did not come in?
~ @Fightins9724

I am not really sure how to answer this question in light of the fact that it will be Aaron Nola, not Ranger Suarez starting game three.  I thought Suarez would start game two, but the ball ended up going to Jesus Luzardo.  Could something be wrong?

I do think when the Phillies have starters go 6+ innings, the duo of Matt Strahm and Tanner Banks works just fine.  If the team has a healthy Suarez  -and he was physically out there in the bullpen - he probably would have pitched the 10th inning had the Phillies tied the game.

I went back and looked at the ninth inning, and it did not appear anyone was warming in the ninth.

Phillies manager Rob Thomson indicated that nothing was wrong with Suarez.  So what's the plan?

Does Nola try to get through Mookie Betts and Teoscar Hernandez two times (or even once) and yield to Suarez?  Gives the Phillies one or two less times against the tough righties in the lineup (remember - Hernandez burned the Phillies once).  L.A. Journalist Howard Cole thinks so.

If we're being honest: David Robertson and Orion Kerkering have not inspired much confidence this series.  This could be the way of Nola replacing him without directly replacing him.

Thomson says definitively that Suarez is pitching today.  With his past back issues in mind, some may be concerned.  But it looks like we will see both Nola and Suarez today.

When is 2026 Spring Training opening day?
~Chris

We are a little late this year getting a schedule.  Last season, the schedule was released on August 15.  More than six weeks later, it is not out.

My guess would have to be that there are still some outstanding scheduling issues around the 2026 World Baseball Classic.  That contest interrupts the normal flow of the Spring, so the scheduling might take a bit longer.

But the playoffs are not over yet - worry about that later!