LOS ANGELES — Finally feeling more like the squad that finished with the second-best record in the National League, the Philadelphia Phillies staved off elimination and can now lean into some momentum.
The Phillies still will head into Game 4 of their best-of-five National League Division Series on Thursday trailing the Dodgers 2-1, yet they also feel like the team that has the upper hand.
The top three batters in the Philadelphia order — Trea Turner, Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber — went a combined 2-for-21 with one RBI and 11 strikeouts in a pair of home losses to open the series. However, in the Phillies’ 8-2 victory in Game 3 on Wednesday, the trio combined for seven hits, five RBIs and four runs.
Schwarber hit a pair of home runs, including a game-tying 455-foot blast in the fourth inning that got his team’s attention. The Phillies scored three runs in the inning and never trailed again.
“We were missing the slug, missing the homer,” Turner said. “And no better person to do it than (Schwarber). I also thought the at-bats right after that were great. To get those extra runs in that inning were big, and it starts with him.”
Philadelphia manager Rob Thomson had a short meeting before Game 3 to remind his players to have fun. Schwarber embodied that in the elimination game that included a home run from J.T. Realmuto.
“We know what the battle is going to be. 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.”
While the Phillies will return to left-hander Cristopher Sanchez in Game 4 on four days’ rest, the Dodgers will go to right-hander Tyler Glasnow for his first start of the postseason.
Sanchez opened with five scoreless innings in Game 1 before the Dodgers scored two runs off him in the sixth and added three more in the seventh against the bullpen for a 5-3 victory.
In four career regular-season starts against the Dodgers, Sanchez is 2-0 with a 4.01 ERA, including an 0-0 mark and a 5.68 ERA in two outings this year.
Glasnow will become the fourth Dodgers starter in six games this postseason. It marks a change from last season when they used just three traditional starters over their 16-game postseason run.
Since Sept. 21, Glasnow has pitched just 4 2/3 innings, including a three-inning start Sept. 27 against the Seattle Mariners and a five-out relief appearance in Game 1 vs. the Phillies. He didn’t permit a run in either outing.
“It was nice to get him in there in Philly, but as far as kind of his buildup, I think it’s just a normal start,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “We’ll just kind of read and react and see how he’s throwing the baseball.”
Glasnow finished 4-3 with a 3.19 ERA in 18 regular-season starts after missing more than two months with shoulder inflammation. He is 1-0 with a 7.56 ERA in five regular-season appearances (three starts) against the Phillies, who pounded him for five runs in two-plus innings on April 6. He walked five in that brief outing.
While the Dodgers’ offense relied on Shohei Ohtani and his 55 home runs in the regular season, the two-way star is 1-for-14 with seven strikeouts in the current series.
“He’s really not giving himself a chance to hit a mistake,” Roberts said. “I just think that he’s in between a little bit, but the swing decisions are just not where they need to be right now.”
Left-handed reliever Tanner Scott was not available for Los Angeles in Game 3 because of a personal matter.
–Doug Padilla, Field Level Media
