The Philadelphia Phillies fell 6-2 to the New York Mets in Game One of the National League Division Series (NLDS) on Saturday. Philadelphia couldn’t hold on to their early lead after a pitching masterclass by staff ace Zack Wheeler. 

The game got off to a quick start for the Phillies as Kyle Schwarber did what he does. The 31-year-old took the third pitch of the game 425 feet for a leadoff home run. It marks the 12th homer in a Phillies uniform for Schwarber, a new franchise record. 

He hit the long ball of Mets pitcher Kodai Senga, who was making his first start since late July and only his second of the 2024 season. The 2023 All-Star for the Mets was on a pitch count and was removed after going two innings of work with 31 pitches. Other than the homer, he kept the rest of the Phillies lineup without a hit for the rest of his outing. 

The Phillies went with NL Cy Young candidate Zack Wheeler to get the series started, and he came out strong against his former team. The right-hander has bad blood with New York, especially in the postseason after he was told to purchase his own tickets to the 2015 postseason games while recovering from Tommy John surgery. 

“I won’t forget that,” said Wheeler. And he made them pay on the hill on Saturday. 

Wheeler retired nine of the first ten batters he faced, with the only exception being a walk to Jesse Winker in the second inning. He allowed his first hit in the top of the 4th after Mark Vientos snagged a lead-off single on him. However, even after walking Brandon Nimmo to put the Mets in scoring position for the first time in the game, Wheeler found a way to get out of it. He recorded a strikeout to slugger Pete Alonso and immediately followed it with a double play groundball from Jose Iglesias. 

Wheeler finished the day with seven strong innings to set the tone for this series. He allowed one hit on 111 pitches (68 strikes). After he was pulled, he said on the broadcast that he didn’t shake off catcher JT Realmuto once in his outing. He struck out nine batters, with the only blemish of the day being the four walks allowed. 

He now holds the record for the most recorded swings and misses by any Phillies pitcher in a postseason game since 2008. His 30 whiffs passed the great Roy Halladay, who had 19 twice in his career with Philadlephia. According to Sarah Langs, it is now the third most in a postseason game since pitch tracking began. He only trails Gerrit Cole (33) and Tim Lincecum (31).  He finished the day with a 39% CSW.

Wheeler's Dominance on the Mound

Wheeler also saw a significant jump in his pitch velocity on Saturday. His four-seam fastball was 2.3 mph above his season average. After his outing, he made postseason history as the only player to have multiple starts of seven or more scoreless innings in the playoffs and not allow more than one hit.

Following Senga, the Mets went with David Peterson. He did his job, going three solid innings and only allowing one hit. Reid Garrett followed him in relief and also provided two scoreless innings. 

The Phillies' Bullpen Struggles

Once Wheeler was removed from the game, the momentum took a shift to the Mets late in the game. Manager Rob Thomson went with former closer Jeff Hoffman for the first man out of the bullpen. He allowed three straight hits and allowed New York to tie the game at one when Viento singled on a line drive to left field. Although Hoffman was an All-Star this season as a reliever for Philadelphia, he missed some time this week as he dealt with a stiff neck. 

Hoffman was replaced by Matt Strahm and later Orion Kerkering in the eighth inning as they struggled to end the frame. The Mets ended up sending nine batters to the plate and took a 5-1 lead. 

Wheeler deserved better. 

Bryce Harper looked to keep the team alive in the game and mount a comeback as he picked up a two-out double in the bottom of the eighth inning. Nick Castellanos moved him to third base, but they left headed into the ninth, still down by four. 

The Mets picked up one more insurance run in the top of the ninth before the Phillies final chance at the plate. Ryan Stanek was sent to the mound to close the game for New York. He began the ninth with a strikeout to Bryson Stott. The Phillies worked the count as Realmuto made it on base with a one-out walk. Brandon Marsh picked up the second out with a fly out to center field. 

Kody Clemons picked up an RBI double in his first postseason at-bat to bring in Realmuto to bring them to within four. However, the eighth-inning rally was too much to come back from as Kyle Schwaber flew out to seal another clutch victory for the Mets. New York is now the third team to win back-to-back playoff games after trailing in the eighth inning or later. 

The Phillies will be back in action on Sunday for Game Two of the series at Citizens Bank Park on Sunday. Christopher Sanchez will take the mound for the Phillies. The first pitch is scheduled for 4:08 pm ET and will be available nationally on FS1.

The Secret Weapon

Although the team is loaded with superstar talent, the best-of-five series with New York may come down to some close plays or picking up some big outs in order to move on. On Friday, the writers at MLB.com listed who they believe could be each team’s “secret weapon” for the division series. For the Phillies, the team went with one of the squad's eight All-Stars in reliever Jeff Hoffman. 

They selected Hoffman because of the versatility he has shown out of the bullpen for the Phillies this season, especially in the second half of the season. Once the team acquired Carlos Estevez to be the team’s closer at the MLB Trade Deadline, Hoffman moved into a diverse role that has helped them win ball games no matter the inning. 

 “Since Estevez became the closer, Hoffman has been deployed anywhere from the sixth through the ninth innings, depending on the situation. Hoffman can start an inning or handle a “dirty” inning, as Phillies manager Rob Thomson likes to call it.” Said Todd Zolecki of MLB.com, and he is not wrong. Having someone like the 31-year-old at your disposal for any situation following one of your starters is a great problem to have. 

He appeared in five games for the Phillies last season, helping them return to the NLCS for the second straight year. Over that span, he pitched six scoreless innings and struck out eight. He allowed only four hits against 21 batters he faced. 

Hoffman has excellent numbers against the current Mets roster as well, which could definitely come in clutch when deciding when to utilize him in this series. He has held Mets All-Star Pete Alonso to only two hits in 13 career at-bats. He has also left superstar Francisco Lindor hitless with three strikeouts over the only four times they have matched up against each other. 

It was reported on Wednesday that the All-Star reliever was dealing with a “stiff neck” to begin the week heading into the NLDS, but manager Rob Thomson stated “he’ll be fine” if his name is called in Game One of the series. 

The first pitch for the beginning of the NLDS with the New York Mets is scheduled for 4:08 pm ET on Saturday. The game will be available nationally on FOX.