The Philadelphia Phillies cruised to a 5-3 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks in Monday’s Game 1 of the National League Championship Series. The NL champions got three early home runs from Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper and Nick Castellanos, and for the first time in his career, D-back Zach Gallen allowed three homers in the first two innings of a start.
On the flip side, Philly starter Zach Wheeler had another solid postseason outing, and Rob Thompson’s team was able to maintain the lead through the late innings, albeit precariously at times.
A 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series puts the Phillies within three wins of returning to the World Series for the second straight year. The Diamondbacks were 5-0 this postseason before losing in Game 1.
Now let’s get some takeaways from the 2023 NLCS opener.
1. Schwarber made postseason history
Kyle Schwarber, the Phillies’ slugger and leadoff hitter, got things started as soon as possible in Game 1, ambushing a fastball from Zac Gallen on the first pitch and sending it deep for Philly’s evening:
He left that bat at 117.1 mph (!) and traveled 420 feet for a 1-0 Philly lead. For Schwarber, it was his fourth career home run of the postseason, as Sarah Lange noted This is an all-time record. Overall, it was Schwarber’s 16th home run in 59 playoff games.
Two strokes later, Bryce Harper on his 31st birthday He also returned to a first-pitch fastball from Gallen. That led to Zach Wheeler’s early 2-0 lead.
2. Castellanos has remained hot – historically hot
Nick Castellanos, the Phils’ warrior poet, has hit two home runs in each of the last two NLDS games against the Braves. Then in the second inning of Game 1 of the NLCS, he went deep (so far) again:
It was Castellanos’ fifth home run, at that point, with his last eight hits coming back in Game 3 of the NLDS against the Braves. Casti explosions! Even more impressive, Castellanos joined Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson — Mr. October himself — as the only players to hit five home runs in three postseason games. Walking with the playoff gods, that is. Also, Castellanos’ home run means the 2023 Phillies have hit 12 home runs in the three-game span, That’s a playoff record.
3. Zack Wheeler did what he had to do
Wheeler gave the Phils six dominant innings in Game 1. During that span, he allowed just three hits and struck out eight against no walks. He relied heavily on his mid-90s fastball (plus a good extension that adds speed), and overall generated 17 whiffs. At one point, Wheeler retired 15 batters in a row. The two runs came on a sixth inning homer by Geraldo Perdomo. However, Perdomo’s expected batting average for a home run was just .140, so there was some bad luck from Wheeler’s perspective.
Wheeler got off to this start with a career ERA of 2.59 in eight playoff starts with 51 strikeouts and eight walks. His efforts in Game 1 continue that trend of postseason excellence.
4. The Diamondbacks are in a tough spot… right now
The D-backs are down to 0-1 in this best-of-seven series. What does history tell us about such straits? Across all of MLB’s top seven postseason series, a team loses the first game on the road and loses the series 68.5% of the time. These teams also lose the second game 55.6% of the time. However, win Game 2, and the Diamondbacks will turn this into, in essence, a best-of-five series and gain home-field advantage away from the Phillies. So, yes, the risks will be high on Tuesday.
Next: The second match on Tuesday
The pivotal second game of the series back in Philly pits Diamondbacks right-hander Meryl Kelly against Phillies reliever Aaron Nola. Kelly got off to a strong start against the Dodgers in the NLDS, while this season Nola has a 1.42 ERA over two innings with 12 strikeouts in 12 2/3 innings. The win in Game 1 means the Phillies are now 27-11 in playoff games at Citizens Bank Park and 5-0 at home in the postseason.
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