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By Noah Camras
Contributing Sports Writer
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The Philadelphia Phillies lost Game 1 of the National League Division Series, 5-3, against the defending-champion Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Phillies didn't only drop the first game of the series, but also lost home-field advantage in the process. The Phillies now enter Game 2 in must-win territory in the short best-of-five series.
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The Phillies had a 3-0 lead through the first five innings, and Phillies starter Cristopher Sanchez was pitching lights out. He got into his first trouble in the sixth inning, and the Dodgers capitalized, as Kiké Hernandez hit a two-run double. Veteran reliever David Robertson relieved him in the sixth and maintained the Phillies' one-run lead.
While the Phillies then deployed their bullpen normally, using relievers Robertson, Matt Strahm, Orion Kerkering and Jhoan Duran over the last few innings, the Dodgers did things differently.
After Shohei Ohtani pitched six innings, starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow recorded five outs in his first relief appearance since 2018. Reliever Alex Vesia got the final out of the eighth, while rookie starting pitcher Roki Sasaki got the final three outs in the win for LA.
Phillies manager Rob Thomson said before the game that left-handed pitcher Ranger Suarez would be available out of the bullpen in Game 1 with Jesus Luzardo starting Game 2 and Suarez likely starting Game 3. However, he wasn't used as Robertson and Strahm combined to blow the lead in the sixth and seventh innings.
Did Thomson consider using Suarez? He had a one-word response to that question after the game.
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Here was the full interaction:
Reporter: "You saw what the Dodgers did, going three starters today. Was there any contemplation to going Ranger either in the sixth or the seventh inning?"
Thomson: "No."
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Suarez is now lined up to pitch Game 3, but that game could potentially be an elimination game depending on how Game 2 goes for Philadelphia. Luzardo (15-7, 3.92 ERA) is set to take the mound against Blake Snell (5-4, 2.35 ERA). Snell pitched for the Dodgers in Wild Card Game 1, going seven innings and allowing two earned runs with nine strikeouts.
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