'It was breathtaking' – some of the most unlikely culprits caused the Phillies' Game 1 implosion

'It was breathtaking' – some of the most unlikely culprits responsible for the Phillies' Game 1 implosion originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Jeff Hoffman posted a 1.65 ERA in the final weekend of the regular season.

Matt Strahm brought a 1.87 ERA into the playoffs.

The hitters had gone 12 of 134 against this duo after starting 0-2, for a batting average of .090.

None of that mattered in Game 1 of the NLDS and none of that dominance was on display.

Hoffman and Strahm each faced three batters in the decisive eighth inning of the Phillies' 6-2 loss to the Mets. Five of those six counts started 0-2 or 1-2, the others started 0-1, and the result was four singles, a walk and a sacrifice fly.

Two of baseball's best players at fending off a batter couldn't find an out pitch for nearly half an hour as the Mets flipped the script again with their third comeback in six days in the eighth inning or later.

“It was breathtaking to see Hoffy and Strahmy give up like that,” said manager Rob Thomson. “But that’s baseball sometimes. They actually haven’t done that since we got them.”

That undone another masterpiece by Zack Wheeler, who allowed one hit in seven scoreless innings to lower his playoff ERA to 2.18 and maintain the lowest WHIP (0.73) in postseason history. He's the biggest advantage the Phillies have in this series, but he might not even pitch again. The Phillies would need to reach Game 4 in the series for Wheeler to appear on short rest, or Game 5 for him to pitch on regular rest.

“It’s on fire,” Hoffman said. “I definitely want to capitalize on such an effort. He did everything he could to keep us in front.”

Wheeler's six fastest pitches of the season, which ranged from 98.2 to 99.0 mph, came in the first inning Saturday. He felt it. Kyle Schwarber gave him a lead in the first inning with a mammoth solo home run and that lead held until Wheeler exited.

“Wheeler was incredible,” Thomson said. “We haven’t seen this kind of speed from him in a while. It’s as good as it gets.”

The Phillies have a lot of faith in Hoffman, Strahm, Orion Kerkering and Carlos Estevez for good reason, but two of the worst offenders least likely to cost them a game did so on Saturday.

“It just has to be better tomorrow. We play five games for a reason,” Hoffman said. “Show up at the same time tomorrow and get it done.”

“I’ll treat tomorrow for what it is, which is a ball game. I won’t think about today, yesterday or two days ago.”

However, this defeat was not only due to two substitutes. The Phillies didn't get their third hit of the day until there were two outs in the bottom of the eighth. They didn't score after Schwarber's first home run until Kody Clemens hit a two-out double in the ninth.

And it's not like they're unlucky and end up everywhere. They didn't score many balls and, just like in the last games of the 2023 NLCS, they expanded the attack zone.

“There was definitely a chase tonight,” Thomson said. “We have to get back into the zone. We need to start using the field. We talk about this all the time. And we just have to put together better batting techniques.”

Given the number of Phillies who slipped out of their shoes in Games 6 and 7 of the NLCS, it's hard not to see this as a cause for concern. They felt the pressure then and the subconscious reaction was to swing harder, which rarely works in baseball.

They all know better, but it's a problem that can be difficult to fix in real time, especially for hitters who are always aggressive like Trea Turner and Nick Castellanos.

“We shouldn’t,” Bryce Harper said. “You have to know what they're up to. We have to do better.”

“It’s the same thing, man. Chasing balls in the dirt didn't work the way we should have. We have to understand what they want to do to us and immediately flip the switch to launch an offensive.”

You will have less than 24 hours to think about it.