LOS ANGELES -- The Phillies knew their path to the World Series was about to get a lot tougher when they found out in mid-August that Zack Wheeler would miss the rest of the season.
He's the team's bona fide ace. He was a legitimate NL Cy Young contender at the time. He's one of the most dominant pitchers in MLB postseason history.
Still, the Phillies believed their starting rotation was not only their biggest strength, but -- even without Wheeler -- perhaps the best in the Majors. Despite their season ending in devastating fashion in Thursday night's 2-1 loss at Dodger Stadium, it's hard to argue otherwise after the way they pitched in this National League Division Series.
Cristopher Sánchez matched Shohei Ohtani pitch for pitch in a Game 1 gem. Jesús Luzardo took a tough-luck loss in Game 2 after cruising through six scoreless innings before allowing two runs in the seventh -- both of which scored after he turned things over to the bullpen.
In a must-win Game 3, veteran Aaron Nola put aside the worst season of his 11-year career to give the Phillies exactly what they needed for two innings. He then handed the ball to Ranger Suárez, who tossed five innings of one-run ball in relief in what proved to be the Phillies' only victory over the series.
The Phillies executed that unorthodox pitching plan perfectly to keep their season alive -- and they nearly did so again one night later in Game 4.
Locked in a scoreless pitchers' duel through six innings, the Phillies finally broke through against the Dodgers' bullpen in the top of the seventh to take a one-run lead. So when Sánchez allowed two runners to reach in the bottom half, manager Rob Thomson turned to his lights-out closer Jhoan Duran to escape the jam.
The move came exactly one year to the day that Thomson went to Carlos Estévez -- last year's prized Trade Deadline acquisition -- in the sixth inning of another must-win NLDS Game 4 against the Mets. Estévez promptly gave up a grand slam to Francisco Lindor that ultimately ended the Phillies' season.
This time around, Duran induced a ground ball for the second out, though it wasn't hit hard enough to turn a double play. Then, with two on and two outs, Thomson opted to intentionally walk Ohtani to load the bases for Mookie Betts.
Duran walked Betts -- the first bases-loaded walk of Duran's career -- to force in the tying run.
"That's Duran's first career bases-loaded walk," Thomson said. "So, you're not expecting that. His ability to throw strikes -- really wasn't expecting that. But it happened."
Still, Duran made quick work of the Dodgers in a 1-2-3 eighth that included a pair of strikeouts. After Matt Strahm threw a scoreless ninth, then came another out-of-the-box decision by Thomson. He turned to Luzardo -- the team's presumed starter for a potential Game 5 -- in the 10th.
Luzardo struck out Ohtani on three pitches before retiring Betts and striking out Teoscar Hernández. The left-hander may have still been in line to pitch an if-necessary Game 5 had he pitched just one inning -- but then he came back out for the 11th.
"It was really just, we've got to win today," Luzardo said. "Because if we don't win today, there is no Game 5."
There will, obviously, be no Game 5 after the Phillies ultimately lost when Orion Kerkering -- who replaced Luzardo with two on and two outs in the 11th -- made a game-ending error.
All told, the four regular starting pitchers the Phillies used in the series -- Sánchez, Luzardo, Suárez and Nola -- combined for a 2.03 ERA over 26 2/3 innings. That includes Suárez's first relief appearance since Game 1 of the 2022 World Series, and Luzardo's first since June 19, 2021.
"I'm so proud of all of them, man. Gosh, they stepped up so much this year,” said Nola, who missed three months from mid-May to mid-August due to a pair of injuries. “They had such great seasons, especially when Wheels went down. When I was hurt for those three months, just watching those guys do their thing was unbelievable. Just super proud of those guys."
Of course, it's tough not to wonder how it all would have looked with Wheeler, a guy whose 2.18 career postseason ERA ranks third all time (minimum 10 postseason starts), trailing only Waite Hoyt (1.83) and Madison Bumgarner (2.11).
Wheeler certainly would have started Games 1 and 4. It likely would have been Sánchez in Game 2 and Luzardo in Game 3.
Now, perhaps that would have impacted the series in a more unconventional way, such as freeing up Suárez for a higher-leverage relief role in those first two games. But strictly from a starting pitching standpoint, the Phillies could not have performed much better even with their ace.
“Obviously, one of the best lineups that money can buy on that side, and you tip your cap to them,” Luzardo said. “They played really well. I think the guys we have in this clubhouse, and the rotation especially, did what they could. It's just unfortunate that we weren't able to pull it out.”