Phils' gamble on Nola-Suárez 1-2 punch pays off in huge win

LOS ANGELES -- Phillies manager Rob Thomson thought about the things he might say to the Phillies before Game 3 of the NL Division Series on Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium. They faced elimination in the best-of-five series, which meant Game 3 might be their final hours together.

But it didn’t have to end.

“I know I don’t have to say it, but I feel like I need to say it,” Thomson told his players before an 8-2 victory, forcing Game 4 on Thursday.

“Don’t try harder, trust harder,” he said at one point.

Trust your teammates will do the job.

Stay in the moment. Focus on today. Win one game.

“This is a resilient group,” J.T. Realmuto said. “We knew that if we don’t win today, we go home.”

“Crazy things have happened before when teams are down,” Aaron Nola said.

The Phillies hatched a season-saving plan after Monday’s Game 2 loss at Citizens Bank Park, although they had been discussing different scenarios for days. They would start beleaguered right-hander Nola, trusting he could get through the Dodgers’ lineup one time. If it worked, they would hand the ball to left-hander Ranger Suárez, trusting he could give them several innings in relief. If that worked, they would hand the ball to closer Jhoan Duran for possibly the game’s final six outs.

It worked, except they didn’t even need Duran because Kyle Schwarber jumpstarted a slumbering offense with a game-tying solo home run to right field in the second inning that cleared the right-field bleachers.

“Once Schwarber hit that home run, everybody got to breathe a little bit, let loose and from there on just play our game,” Realmuto said.

The Phillies’ decision to start Nola was a gamble. His 6.01 ERA is the second-highest regular-season ERA for a pitcher starting in an elimination game in postseason history. The Mets’ Oliver Perez had a 6.55 ERA in 2006, then started Game 7 of the NL Championship Series.

“The regular season doesn’t even matter anymore,” Nola said. “Anything can happen in the postseason.”

But Nola also had a 7.94 ERA in the first inning this year. A big first inning for the Dodgers in Game 3 could be a season killer, so they asked him to treat this start differently.

“You need to be a closer in the first inning,” Phillies pitching coach Caleb Cotham said. “There’s not this element of saving things. We just kind of amplified that today. Go out and give your best. Don’t necessarily empty the tank, but pitch them hard. Pitch them like you’ve got them once, and then we’ll just see what happens.”

“Really just exhausting all options,” Realmuto said. “In my mindset, I was using Nola like a closer.”

Nola pitched two scoreless innings with his best fastball velocity (94.2 mph) in the first two innings of a game since Game 3 of the 2023 NLDS (94.5 mph).

“I let it loose a couple times,” Nola said, smiling. “As best as I could.”

He could have gone longer, but the Phillies wanted Suárez to face Shohei Ohtani in his second plate appearance. They also wanted him to start a clean inning.

So Nola’s night ended after eight batters in just two innings.

“When he came out, I was like, ‘What are we doing?’” Trea Turner said. “Because he looked really good. That's the Nola I faced for years. I've seen him pitch a lot of good postseason games for us. When I saw 95 in that first inning and he was throwing strikes and spotting up, I felt he was back to his old self.”

Now it was Suárez’s turn. But he allowed a home run on the first pitch to Tommy Edman to hand the Dodgers a 1-0 lead.

“Sadly, that’s what happened,” Suárez said through the team’s interpreter. “But, you know, after it happened, I’m just like, let me settle down. I don’t want to give up another one.”

Suárez settled. It was the only run he allowed in five innings as he became just the fourth pitcher in Phillies postseason history to pitch four or more innings in relief. He joined Jim Konstanty (6 2/3 innings in 1950 World Series), Eppa Rixey (6 2/3 innings in 1915 World Series) and Dickie Noles (4 2/3 innings in 1980 World Series).

Schwarber’s homer in the fourth sparked a three-run rally. They scored five more runs in the eighth.

The Phillies had life. They had fun.

“I think a lot of us love playing in L.A.,” Bryce Harper said.

They get one more here, and they like their chances with Cristopher Sánchez on the mound in Game 4.

If they win, they will have Jesús Luzardo on the mound in Game 5.

It’s doable. Since Monday, a video from the 2004 AL Championship Series has circulated in the Phillies-verse. It is Red Sox first baseman Kevin Millar chatting with Boston Globe columnist Dan Shaughnessy, who called the Sox “frauds” after the Yankees took a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.

“Let me tell ya, don’t let us win today,” Millar said.

Thomson is not on social media, but he is familiar with the clip. He worked with the Yankees in 2004. Asked if he feels the same way about the Phillies, Thomson said, “That’s the way you have to feel. You have to feel that. There’s nothing else you can do.”

Don’t think about how they need to win three straight. Just win Game 3 on Wednesday.

That was Thomson’s message before the game.

“We know it's not going to be easy,” Schwarber said. “But … we have the guys to do this, and we're going to keep fighting and scratching and clawing for anything that we can get.”