‘It was stunning' — a few of the least likely culprits caused Phillies' Game 1 implosion

Jeff Hoffman brought a 1.65 ERA into the final weekend of the regular season.

Matt Strahm brought a 1.87 ERA into the playoffs.

Hitters had been 12-for-134 against that duo after beginning a count 0-2, 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 faced three batters apiece in the decisive eighth inning of the Phillies' 6-2 loss to the Mets. Five of those six counts began 0-2 or 1-2, the other began 0-1, and the results were four singles, a walk and a sacrifice fly.

Two of the best in baseball at putting a hitter away couldn't find an out-pitch for nearly a half hour as the Mets flipped the script again with their third comeback in six days in the eighth inning or later.

"It was stunning, it was, to see Hoffy and Strahmy give it up like that," manager Rob Thomson said. "But that's baseball sometimes. They haven't done that since we've had them, really."

It spoiled another masterpiece from Zack Wheeler, who allowed one hit over 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 the series to reach Game 4 for Wheeler to appear on short rest or Game 5 for him to pitch on regular rest.

"It stings," Hoffman said. "Definitely want to capitalize on an outing like that. He did everything he could to keep us ahead."

Wheeler's six fastest pitches of the season, ranging from 98.2 to 99.0 mph, came in the first inning Saturday. He was feeling it. Kyle Schwarber provided him a first-inning lead with a mammoth solo home run and that lead held up until Wheeler exited.

"Wheeler was unbelievable," Thomson said. "We haven't seen that type of velocity out of him and stuff out of him for a while. It's as good as it gets."

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

"Just gotta be better tomorrow. We play five games for a reason," Hoffman said. "Show up at the same time tomorrow and get it done.

"I'm gonna treat tomorrow for what it is, which is one ballgame. Won't be thinking about today or yesterday or two days ago."

This loss wasn't just on two relievers, though. The Phillies didn't pick up their third hit of the day until there were two outs in the bottom of the eighth. They didn't score after Schwarber's leadoff homer until Kody Clemens' two-out double in the ninth.

And it's not as if they hit into bad luck, lining out over all the place. They didn't square many balls up, and just like the final few games of the 2023 NLCS, they expanded the strike zone.

"There was some chase in there tonight for sure," Thomson said. "We've got to get back in the zone. We've got to start using the field. It's what we talk about all the time. And just put better at-bats together."

It's hard not to see that as a concern given the number of Phillies who swung out of their shoes in Games 6 and 7 of the NLCS. They felt the pressure then and the subconscious response was to swing harder, which rarely works in baseball.

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

"We shouldn't," Bryce Harper said. "You've got to know what they're trying to do. We've got to be better.

“It’s the same thing, man. Chasing balls in the dirt, didn’t work deep into counts like we should have. We’ve got to understand what they’re going to try to do to us and flip the switch as an offense immediately.”

They'll have less than 24 hours to think about it.