ATLANTA – Like statues, they were there, this Phillies team. Leaning against the railing of the dugout, chins resting on their crossed arms as they watched everything slip away once more.
This one was a slow death. But the ending could have been discerned from a mile away.
Even before Michael Harris II’s first-inning homer off Aaron Nola that gave Atlanta a lead, he didn’t give up. Even before Ozzie Albies’ fourth-inning homer off Zack Wheeler, which could have been the killer blow.
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It was the Phillies’ roster construction that led to that 6-2 loss to the Braves on Thursday night, ending their season in Game 3 of the wild-card series. It was the lack of starting depth, the lack of a competent bullpen, the lack of reliable right-handed hitters. The weaknesses that the Phillies had sometimes managed to hide were all amplified by the way their regular season ended and directly led to their demise on Thursday.
“It’s just as frustrating as last year and the year before,” Kyle Schwarber said.
The four straight games lost in the final week, delaying a playoff clinch until the very last possible moment, seemed incredibly important. The Phillies used Nola on two days’ rest in Game 161 in a desperate attempt to secure a playoff spot — and it failed. They were then forced to use Wheeler in Game 162.
“Looking back, it’s really important to prepare your pitch this time of year,” Trea Turner said. “We didn’t do a good job of playing to make that happen.”
Instead of being able to field the top three branches in their formidable rotation for this three-game series, the Phillies had to concoct a precarious plan. Jesús Luzardo, who returned from injury to also pitch in Game 162, was only able to cover five innings Tuesday. Cristopher Sánchez started Wednesday and the Phillies relied on Andrew Painter in relief rather than their unstable bullpen.
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That left Nola, who has struggled to keep the ball in the park all season, and Wheeler rested for Thursday’s playoff game.
None of president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski’s acquisitions — not Brooks Raley, nor the injured Luis Arraez and Caleb Kilian — were on the wild card list.
“We didn’t play as well as we wanted down the stretch, especially at the end, and we kind of had to piece it together,” Wheeler said. “This series isn’t ideal, but we’re all pros here, and when we get the ball back, it’s time to compete, and it’s ultimately up to us.”
When both pitchers gave up to the Braves over the right-center field wall Thursday, there were endless “what ifs.” What if Wheeler doesn’t get three days off? What if he had started the match in place of Nola, historically hard hit by the head of the Atlanta order? What if the Phillies bats had been able to recover their overworked pitchers?
Interim manager Don Mattingly said the Phillies decided to start Nola because he was more rested than Wheeler, and they hoped he would be able to keep them in the game for a few turns in the Atlanta batting order. Nola had also made a notable turnaround during his regular season, with a 2.77 ERA in his last 10 starts.
“He’s been one of our best guys down the stretch,” Mattingly said.
It was a nightmare scenario for the Phillies early on and the best-case scenario for the Braves. Less than two months ago, Atlanta opener Ray Kerr was a minor leaguer. But he did his job handling the Phillies’ lefties — excluding Schwarber, who singled and then drew a walk — while their righties failed to carry the load.
From leadoff, Turner went hitless against the left-handed Kerr. He finished the series 1 of 11 in three games.
“I think this year was the biggest question mark for me offensively in a long time, and I had to figure that out,” Turner said. “So there’s definitely going to be a lot of work to do there, and I’ll do it.”
Nola, on the other hand, only managed to get five outs. The veteran right-hander lacked his command, and he sprayed the ball everywhere while Atlanta was content to take its goals. That is, until Harris came down to put a sinker under the zone in the first inning, propelling it 387 feet for a 3-0 Atlanta lead in the blink of an eye.
“I just didn’t get ahead, they didn’t chase much,” Nola said.
Tim Mayza finished the second inning before Nola could once again take the lead in the Braves’ order. And then it was Wheeler for the third, responsible for stopping the bleeding there. But a nine-pitch walk to Austin Riley, followed by an errant throw to Albies, resulted in another home run over that brick wall in right center.
A five-point deficit, especially in the fourth, has already been surmountable for this club. But with every groundout, with every lazy ball, it became clear that the Phillies had exhausted the last of their comeback magic. They got a run in the sixth – on a single by Schwarber, a double by Bryce Harper and an RBI groundout by Alec Bohm – and another in the seventh. Derek Hill tripled and scored on a Turner sacrifice fly.
But the Phillies were unable to regain momentum with the long ball, as they did on Wednesday. While the Braves went deep again in the seventh, this time Matt Olson against Jonathan Bowlan, the Phillies couldn’t find their power.
“It’s tough to score in the playoffs. I know we have a capable roster, but the best teams that make the playoffs have the best pitchers, and it’s not like you’re going to put up 10 every night,” Turner said. “Can we play better? Can we do things better? Of course. We have to ask ourselves these questions and find answers.”
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In the eighth, Atlanta brought in ace Chris Sale in relief, after the 37-year-old threw 95 pitches two days ago, to face Harper. He chased three pitches out of the zone to strike out in an uncompetitive at-bat.
The third strike, a slider in the dirt, went past Atlanta receiver Drake Baldwin and headed toward the backstop, but Harper didn’t notice it right away. He leaned down to undo his leg guard before realizing it and starting to run towards the first one. By then, Baldwin had recovered the ball and easily kicked it out to officially end the inning.
“I don’t like things that I should have, I could have, if that ball had dropped, or if we had put that guy in, or whatever it was,” Harper said. “I don’t like it. You’re here to do business. You’re here to win games. We didn’t do that.”
The sale closed on the ninth. He gave up a leadoff single by Bohm, but rebounded to retire Bryson Stott and Bryan De La Cruz. As a final indictment of the Phillies’ roster and depth, the bottom line came down to Otto Kemp, a utility player with a .080 average in 25 major league at-bats this year, the last of which came in May.
Kemp was outplayed by Sale, missing badly on a slider well inside to send the Braves to the Division Series against the Dodgers. Fireworks ignited the sky as the Phillies leaned on the railing and watched.
“If you don’t win the last game, it’s a crash landing no matter what,” Mattingly said. “It doesn’t matter where he is. There will be a team that doesn’t have him.”
There will be changes coming. Mattingly’s future as manager of the Phillies is uncertain. He declined to discuss his status after the match. Bohm, Arraez, Edmundo Sosa, José Alvarado, Tim Mayza, Brooks Raley and the injured Adolis García will all be free agents. The Phillies won’t owe Nick Castellanos or Taijuan Walker any more dead money.
Harper said he expects the team to be “very different” next year.
“It’s going to be a long offseason, obviously. I have confidence in the organization and in the people in charge,” he said. “See where we’re going.”
But the core, built around him, still left Truist Park on Thursday night, a year older, and never further from that elusive goal.
Gn sports
