Phils' postseason 'pen woes resurface in Wild Card Series opener

ATLANTA -- The Phillies’ bullpen nightmares in the postseason continue.

Jhoan Duran has been the Phils’ rock since he joined the team before the 2025 Trade Deadline. In fact, over the past few months, the Phillies have been desperately searching for ways to find somebody -- anybody -- reliable to pitch between one of the best rotations in baseball and Duran in the ninth inning.

The Phillies tried to skip the middle man entirely in a crushing 5-3 loss to the Braves in Game 1 of the NL Wild Card Series on Tuesday afternoon at Truist Park. The Phillies took a 3-2 lead in the top of the seventh inning on a two-run triple from J.T. Realmuto. They summoned Duran from the bullpen to start the bottom of the seventh.

Duran pitched a clean inning. But then he allowed a two-out single to Michael Harris II in the eighth. He hit Ozzie Albies with a pitch to put runners on first and second.

Then disaster struck.

Austin Riley crushed a 99.9 mph fastball right down the heart of the plate for a three-run home run to right field to give the Braves a 5-3 lead.

Braves fans roared.

The Phillies were stunned.

This loss felt so familiar. Entering Tuesday, in their last 13 postseason games dating back to Game 3 of the 2023 NLCS, the Phillies’ bullpen was 2-6 with a 5.58 ERA and seven blown saves in seven save opportunities. It had a 6.82 ERA in the past two postseasons.