LOS ANGELES— There will be a game four.
It took a cross-country flight to the city of angels for the Philadelphia Phillies' offense to find its stride. After scoring a combined seven runs in the first two games of the series, the club tallied up eight as they roared back against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Phillies put together a complete baseball game for the first time this postseason. Earning an opportunity to continue their season with game four of the National League Division Series on Thursday evening.
Thomson’s master plan
Everyone questioned Rob Thomson’s decision to start Aaron Nola on Wednesday night.
With Ranger Suarez ready to go, it was easy to wonder why Thomson would not give the ball to the proven lefty. The numbers supported Suarez, as well as the eye test. It did not matter to Thomson, who had a plan and some faith in his longest-tenured player.
Starting Nola, the right-hander would get two innings to showcase his best. He ran into some early trouble after a Mookie Betts base hit got past a diving Brandon Marsh in center field. With two outs and runners at the corners, Nola would strike out Will Smith to avoid a disastrous start. In the second inning, he would retire the Dodgers 1-2-3, finishing both the frame and his outing.
Then entered Suarez. The player that everyone expected to enter the game next did and immediately served up a solo home run to Tommy Edman. At that moment, the questioning of the Thomson’s plan began once again.
But like he always does, Suarez dazzled in the playoffs. He settled in after that home run, pitching five innings out of the bullpen for the Phillies. The starters combined for 7.0 innings pitched, six hits, one earned run, one walk, and seven strikeouts. They gave their offense a chance to finally break through.
Stars align
Much has been said about the combination of Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber, and Bryce Harper in the first two games of the NLDS. All three players were underperforming and were certainly just as guilty as any others for the club’s 0-2 deficit.
In the first inning, it felt like the stars of the Phillies were going down quietly once again. Harper would earn a walk, but the offense went down without much issue for Dodger starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Yamamoto would retire nine of the first 10 batters he faced in the game, pitching three quick innings.
In the top of the fourth however, the offense finally clicked. Like we saw 56 times in the regular season, Schwarber would get the party started with his first postseason home run in 2025. Schwarber’s home run would tie the game at 1-1.
The Phillies kept swinging the bats. Harper would single as the next batter. Alec Bohm followed, smashing a single into center field. Harper would get aggressive, trying to reach third base on the knock by Bohm. The ball was picked up by Andy Pages, who sailed the ball past third base, and into the Dodgers’ dugout.
The dead ball would move Harper to the plate and allow Bohm to advance all the way to third base. Bohm would then score on a sacrifice fly from Brandon Marsh. This gave the Phillies a 3-1 lead at this junction of the ballgame.
Phillies keep pushing
After failing to capitalize on opportunities in the middle innings, the Phillies still held to a 3-1 lead. They needed to add more, as they learned three runs would likely not be enough to beat a star-powered Dodger lineup.
In the top of the eighth inning, one of the other team's regulars stayed hot. J.T. Realmuto went deep for the first time in the postseason, expanding the lead to 4-1 Phillies.
Max Kepler would walk and Nick Castellanos would reach on a Max Muncy error. With two runners on, Bryson Stott would drop a sacrifice bunt to move both runners into scoring position. Turner would step up with another chance to turn his postseason around. A bloop single would drive in both runners and quickly the Phillies led 6-1.
With Turner on base, Schwarber stepped back in the batter's box. He would connect on his second home run of the night. The Phillies now led the game 8-1. Not only was this moment huge for the game, but it made baseball history. Schwarber moved into third place all-time for postseason home runs in Major League Baseball lore.
Game Notes
Orion Kerkering would pitch a scoreless eighth inning for the Phillies. He has now pitched in all three games.
Johan Duran got loose for several innings but was not used in game three. He will more than likely enter at some point in game four on Thursday night.
Taijuan Walker started the ninth inning, but allowed some traffic and an earned run in the inning. Tanner Banks entered to get the final out, causing Shohei Ohtani to fly out to right field.
Turner, Schwarber, and Harper combined to go 7/13 with two home runs, five runs batted in, one double, and one stolen base. They finally broke through and were a huge reason why the Phillies were able to secure a win in game three.
Game four will be at 6:08 pm EST on Thursday. Cristopher Sanchez will face Tyler Glasgow as the Phillies look to send the series back to Philadelphia for a game five.
