Philadelphia Phillies spooked by shadows in Game 1 loss to New York Mets
Even in a month dubbed "Red October," the Philadelphia Phillies haven't shown many signs of being spooked by the shadows. Game 1 of the National League Division Series hit differently.
Just like the last two postseason games at Citizens Bank Park, the Phillies' offense was nonexistent in a 6-2 loss to the New York Mets. The Phillies mustered just five hits in the loss, hitting just .156 as a team against a Mets pitching staff that used five different pitchers to shut them down.
Was it the five days rest that cost the Phillies offense? The 4 p.m. start time did them no favors.
"I feel like from the first inning through the seventh inning, it was really hard to see the baseball," said Nick Castellanos, explaining the lack of production on offense. "I think on both sides. What did we have three hits in the first seven innings? And then, I think both teams — after the sun was behind the stadium — put together some better at-bats."
The Mets had just one hit in the first seven innings off Zack Wheeler, as the Phillies ace shut them down in his 111 pitches. Wheeler struck out nine and walked four in his seven innings, recording 30 swings and misses in the game — the most by any Phillies pitcher in the pitch-tracking era (since 2008). Of the Phillies postseason performances where a pitcher went seven or more scoreless innings while allowing one or fewer hits, Wheeler has two of them.
And yet, the Phillies ended up with just two hits in Wheeler's seven innings — both from Kyle Schwarber. The rest of the lineup went 0 for 20 in those seven innings (Schwarber went 2 for 3).
"It's just a lot harder to see the baseball,' Castellanos said. "It's kinda like it is when we have that 1:30 start. When it gets to the back end of the game, it gets more difficult. 4 o'clock start, it gets harder when there's no clouds in the sky. It will get easier when the game goes on, when you look at the box score, it was just that."
The Phillies and Mets combined for 10 hits in the final two innings, but the damage was done in the eighth inning by the Mets. Once Wheeler existed, the Mets scored five runs off five hits in the inning. Jeff Hoffman couldn't get an out as he was charged with giving up three runs, while Matt Strahm gave up two runs of his own, relieving Hoffman — only getting one out.
Perhaps it was the shadows. Maybe it was Wheeler. The Mets took advantage of only being down 1-0 when Wheeler exited, while the Phillies couldn't build off a leadoff home run by Schwarber that had the Mets in an early hole.
The 5-through-9 hitters hit 1 for 17, the lone hit by Kody Clemens — who pinch hit — in the ninth. The starters went 0 for 16.
The Phillies will have to deal with those same shadows in Game 2 on Sunday, their biggest one of the season. They also have to figure out how to hit in Citizens Bank Park again, as the Phillies have scored just five runs in their last three postseason games at home — all losses.
"We kind of got a little bit of practice today," said Trea Turner of the shadows. "It's tough, you see certain pitchers and sometimes at-bats are better or worse. You don't know what to think all the time. You gotta grind it out. It's not fun, but they are dealing with the same thing over there. Been playing quite a few 4 o'clock postseason games in my career and that always seems to be the case. One team wins, so we gotta find a way."
The Phillies aren't using the shadows as an excuse, although it's very easy to interpret it as such. Their season is on the line.
'It's gonna be a grind. It's gonna be the same for us as it is for them," Castellanos said. "We're gonna have to find a way to deal with it."