So far in the National League Division Series, the Philadelphia Phillies are repeating what led to their 2023 and 2024 postseason failures. This time, they trail the Los Angeles Dodgers 2-0 in the NLDS. They need to win on Wednesday in Los Angeles to keep their season going for at least one more night. The team will turn to veteran starting pitcher Aaron Nola for Game 3 with their season on the line. Ranger Suárez is expected to pitch in relief following Nola. Initially, it appeared the Phillies’ NLDS rotation would feature three left-handed starting pitchers. That has now changed, with Nola getting the nod for Game 3. Suárez was available out of the bullpen in the first two games of the series but did not appear in either game. Now it is up to Nola and Suárez to help the Phillies extend their season.
Phillies Repeating Postseason Failures from Last Two Seasons
Lack of Offensive Production from Stars
Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, and Trea Turner are a combined 2-for-21 in this series. Additionally, the trio has combined for no home runs and one RBI. Neither of the two hits was an extra-base hit. This is a continuation of the Phillies’ postseason failures of the last two seasons, where the offense failed to produce runs in big moments. The three of them have also combined to strike out 11 times this series. For comparison, in the NLDS series loss against the New York Mets last season, the trio went a combined 9-for-43 with two home runs and four RBI. Furthermore, in the 2023 NLCS series loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks, the trio went a combined 18-for-71 at the plate. These performances have been a significant contributor to those series losses.
Kyle Schwarber is 0 for his last 20 dating back to the regular season pic.twitter.com/Uq5FypVNdN
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) October 6, 2025
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Poor Managerial Decisions
Once again, Phillies manager Rob Thomson is making matters worse with bad managerial choices. In Game 1, Thomson left starting pitcher Cristopher Sánchez in one batter too long. As a result, what should have been a 3-0 Phillies lead heading into the bottom of the sixth turned into a 3-2 Phillies lead. Thomson also should not have sent David Robertson back out for the seventh inning after he replaced Sánchez on the mound in the top of the sixth inning. In Game 2, with Nick Castellanos at second base as the tying run with no outs, Thomson had Bryson Stott bunt. This led to Castellanos being thrown out at third on the bunt, eventually squandering an opportunity to tie the game. There was no reason whatsoever for Stott to be bunting in that situation.
Bullpen Problems
Robertson recorded a 54.00 ERA in Game 1 after melting down in the seventh inning. Matt Strahm has a 6.75 ERA in two appearances and allowed some of the runners he inherited from Robertson to score in Game 1. For comparison, last season Strahm had an 18.00 ERA in three postseason outings, so this is not a new issue. Strahm did get Shohei Ohtani out, which is why Thomson brought him into Game 1, but things went wrong from there. Jhoan Duran has recorded two scoreless appearances, but he has not yet had a save opportunity this postseason. Orion Kerkering has a 10.80 ERA in two appearances in this series as well. Kerkering pitched a scoreless inning in Game 1 but melted down in Game 2.
Main Photo Credit: © Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
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