Albert Einstein once said, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again.” The Phillies saw how the previous year, the year before that, and even the year before that ended. John Middleton, after a humiliating 4-game exit to the Mets, decided, “What’s one more year?” Rob Thomson stayed on; the main core remained, and the team seemed ready to try to break through once again. A similar style offseason was implemented by Dave Dombrowski. Find a platoon guy in Max Kepler, add bullpen arm Jordan Romano (in doing so, losing All-Star Reliever Jeff Hoffman), and add Jesus Luzardo to bolster one of the best pitching staffs in baseball. The Phillies at the trade deadline added one pitcher and one hitter, closer Jhoan Duran, and at long last, got an everyday centerfielder, Harrison Bader. So, after putting faith in Topper, and the core of Turner, Schwarber, and Harper, would this finally be the year?
The Phillies would get an unfortunate matchup with the defending World Champion Los Angeles Dodgers, after once again winning the NL East champions with a 96-win season. Although the team remained very similar, the team had a different feel to 2024. Although they would lose Zack Wheeler for the season, the rest of the staff would step up. Sanchez, Ranger, and Luzardo were a good combination in baseball. Harrison Bader would bring an unfamiliar edge to the team. They were playing the best they’ve played all season in September after sweeping the Mets out of Philadelphia, sending them spiraling out of the mix.
In game 1, they carried on with the good mojo. Early on in the second inning, JT Realmuto would smoke one up the alley, which, for some reason, Dodger right fielder Teoscar Hernandez decided he did not need to bother fielding. The Triple would plate two, and then JT would come home on a sac fly, as the Phillies hung a 3-spot on Shohei Ohtani. The champions would battle back, chasing Cristopher Sanchez from the game in the sixth and cutting the lead to one run. The following inning, a puzzling Rob Thomson decision to leave David Robertson in would create traffic for Matt Strahm. Although he got two outs, Strahm would see his fastball sent to right center field and clear the fences, as Teoscar Hernandez made up for his earlier blemishes and gave the Dodgers a 5-3 lead, and the victory in game 1.
In game 2, two dominant craftsmen, Snell and Luzardo, would shut down both offenses. Luzardo would finally run into trouble in the 7th, and once more, another odd Rob Thomson decision would see known poor big leverage guy, Orion Kerkering, come in relief. Kerkering would actually do his job, until a poor throw from 300 Million Dollar shortstop Trea Turner would see the inning extended, and the Dodgers take a 1-0 lead. Then the floodgates would open and the Dodgers would take a 4-0 lead, with the Red October crowd resorting to vicious boos. Turner would get the Phillies on the board, but still, the Phillies were less than threatening to the Dodgers. Once a symbol of buzz, Jhoan Duran’s electric entrance became nothing more than a joke down 3 runs, as the crowd continued to boo.
With an era of Phillies baseball heading to the grave, the Phillies would show life in the bottom of the 9th. After Bohm and JT reached, Nick Castellanos would come through with a double, scoring both aforementioned runners, and all of a sudden it was a one-run game with a man in scoring position, and no outs. All the momentum swung back to Philadelphia. Up stepped Bryson Stott, a man who the year before had hit a clutch triple in Game 2 to give the Phillies the lead. Instead, he was ordered to bunt, and after a successful wheel play, Casteallanos was thrown out at third base. With the tying run, however, still on base, there was hope. Bader would reach, Kepler would ground out, to ultimately set the stage for Trea Turner. Turner would not come through, grounding out and putting the Phillies down two games to none, with a trip to Dodger Stadium awaiting.
Out on the west coast, the Phillies would face elimination with Aaron Nola on the bump as an opener, after the worst season of his career. He would do his job, only for Ranger Suarez to be greeted with a home run by Tommy Edman. The following inning, Kyle Schwarber would get his first hit of the series with a titanic 455-foot blast over the Pavilion in right. The Phillies’ offense would go on to add a pair in the inning to make it 3-1. Flashing forward to the latter stages, after barely escaping the 7th unharmed, Future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw would be offered as a sacrificial lamb by manager Dave Roberts. The Phillies would score a 5-spot, capped off by homers from JT Realmuto and Kyle Schwarber. Despite a late consolation for the Dodgers, the Phillies’ season would last one more day, as they forced a game 4. Was this the momentum the Phillies’ bats needed? Instead, Tyler Glasnow, whom they had already dominated early in the season, tossed 6 scoreless innings. Phillies ace Cristopher Sanchez would be just as brilliant. After Glasnow’s exit, Nick Castellanos finally got the Phillies on the board with an RBI Double. In the bottom half of the inning, Mark Wegner would miss a crucial call that would’ve seen Dodgers outfielder Alex Call go down on strikes. Instead, Call would go on to walk, and Wegner’s postgame apology to Sanchez would not feel like much of a reward. This walk would spark a Dodgers rally, culminating in a Mookie Betts bases-loaded walk to tie the game. The Phillies and Dodgers would trade blows in a true playoff classic. Phillies game 5 starter Jesus Luzardo would come in relief, but would run into trouble in the 11th. Once again, in relief came Phillies reliever Orion Kerkering. Inheriting two runners and a further walk to Kike Hernandez would leave the bases loaded. Heavily struggling Dodgers 9-hole hitter Andy Pages would come to the plate. The series-defining moment was a comebacker right to Orion Kerkering. He would knock the ball down, and with plenty of time to get the out at first base (in doing so, ending the inning), instead crumbled under the pressure and threw home with his catcher, JT Realmuto, pointing to first base, as the ball sailed to the backstop, ending the Phillies’ season.
He was consoled by his manager, Rob Thomson, as he stepped into the dugout and the Dodgers stormed the field in celebration of their 4th trip to the NLCS in the 2020s. Topper stated, “I feel for him because he’s putting it all on his shoulders”(Via Yahoo). Thomson later went on to also say, “we win as a team and we lose as a team.” Lose as a team indeed. Another series marked by the same old problems. A crumbling bullpen disappearing in high-leverage spots, or in this case, the suffocating pressure of making the simple play in the playoffs. Or the offense, or lack thereof, with the big 3 of Turner, Harper, and Schwarber(game 3 aside), combining for just 3 hits. Also, the continuing implosion of Rob Thomson in the playoffs, be it leaving Robertson in, going to Kerkering in the 7th of Game 2, the botched bunt, or going to Kerkering again, his teams seemingly can never win close games in October. The Phillies outscored the Dodgers in the NLDS 15-13, but yet again the Phillies failed to advance to the NLCS. Perhaps you could say last year, the Mets were just the better team, but it’s certainly hard to say the Dodgers were flawless in this series; the Phillies continuously squandered chances to win this series.
It was announced by Jon Heyman on October 13th that Rob Thomson is expected to stay on as the Phillies’ manager. Many said last year that the Phillies would be “broken up,” and these sentiments remain for this year. Expect some chips to move, such as Nick Casteallanos, to be somehow moved off the books. Free agents Kyle Schwarber and Harrison Bader could very well not be Phillies next year. Ranger Suarez seems almost certain not to be here in Philadelphia. A crucial offseason lies ahead for President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski. The time for mundane filler platoon players like Whit Merrifield or Max Kepler has sailed. The Phillies’ seemingly only solution in October is to score 20 runs a game, or somehow pray they find a way. They continuously lose low-scoring games. Since the 2023 NLDS, the Phillies have a losing record at home and are 0-9 in games they don’t score 5 or more runs. If the offense keeps ghosting, it might be time for a new approach. Even if the Phillies bolster their guns on offense, expecting the offense to light it up every night is very unreliable. The Phillies need to learn how to win close games. It’s hard to feel like they’re working towards that goal when Thomson is staying, and many offensive pieces could return as well. As said at the beginning, “the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again” and expecting different results. The Phillies are making owner John Middleton go insane.