The Division Series is underway and the two best teams in the National League are facing 1-0 series deficits. The Atlanta Braves were shut out by the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 1 of their NLDS matchup (PHI 3, ATL 0) while the Los Angeles Dodgers got hammered by the upstart Arizona Diamondbacks (ARI 11, LAD 2). The two home teams fell flat Saturday.
Phillies manager Rob Thomson expertly deployed his bullpen -- six relievers combined for 5 1/3 scoreless innings -- to hold the high-powered Braves to five singles and three walks. Atlanta went 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position. Bryce Harper and Bryson Stott went a combined 4 for 5 with three walks in Game 1. Harper hit a solo home run.
As for the Diamondbacks, they jumped all over Clayton Kershaw in Game 1. The future Hall of Famer failed to make it out of the first inning and the D-Backs had a 9-0 lead after two innings. Tommy Pham had four hits, including a homer, and Corbin Carroll continued his postseason onslaught with a long solo homer. Arizona had eight extra-base hits in the game.
Here are five takeaways from Game 1 of the two National League Division Series.
1. Kershaw got capital-R Rocked
And that might be an understatement. Clayton Kershaw has had his fair share of postseason struggles, we all know that, but Game 1 against the D-Backs was his worst postseason start ever. Kershaw got tagged for six runs while getting just one out, and the contact he surrendered was loud. Look at these exit velocities, in chronological order:
- Ketel Marte double (115.7 mph)
- Corbin Carroll RBI single (109.6 mph)
- Tommy Pham single (99.4 mph)
- Christian Walker RBI double (105.7 mph)
- Gabriel Moreno three-run home run (110.8 mph)
- Lourdes Gurriel Jr. groundout (96.7 mph)
- Evan Longoria double (98.9 mph)
Yikes. Kershaw has been dealing with a nagging shoulder issue in recent weeks, so much so that he has not started a game on fewer than six days of rest since August. But, at the end of the day, if you're healthy enough to be on the field, you're expected to perform, and Kershaw was awful Saturday. The D-Backs were on everything he threw.
At this point of the season and at this point in Kershaw's career, every game he pitches could be his last. He's been going year to year the last few seasons and, with his 36th birthday coming up in March, Kershaw could decide to hang up his spikes. It would be a shame if this disastrous Game 1 performance is how he goes out.
2. Carroll continues dominant October
If there was such a thing as Wild Card Series MVP, Corbin Carroll would have won it against the Brewers, and his hypothetical NLDS MVP case is off to a great start. He opened the Game 1 scoring with a first-inning single against Kershaw and then hit a solo home run more than halfway up the bleachers against Emmet Sheehan in the second. Check it out:
Carroll, the likely NL Rookie of the Year, went 4 for 7 with a double, a homer, two walks, and zero strikeouts in the Wild Card Series against the Brewers. He has been incredible three games into his postseason career.
Also, thanks to Carroll and the offensive explosion, D-Backs starter Merrill Kelly picked up his first ever win against the Dodgers. He went into Game 1 with an 0-11 record and a 5.49 ERA in 16 career starts against Los Angeles. Obviously the big early lead helped, but Kelly pitched very well himself, holding the Dodgers scoreless in 6 1/3 innings.
3. Phillies bullpen locks it down
The Braves were the best offense in baseball this season while the Phillies' bullpen has been volatile. In Game 1, the latter starred by holding down the former. Phillies' starter Ranger Suárez was removed after just 3 2/3 innings. It was a 1-0 Phillies lead at the time, so the bullpen was staring down the possibility of needing to throw 5 1/3 innings of scoreless ball.
They were up to the task.
Jeff Hoffman walked the first batter he faced to load the bases, but then struck Michael Harris out to end the threat. Seranthony Domínguez, who has really struggled down the stretch, worked around a pair of singles to throw a scoreless fifth, notably striking out Ronald Acuña Jr. and Austin Riley to strand the two runners.
José Alvarado threw a scoreless sixth. Rookie sensation Orion Kerkering went 1-2-3 in the seventh on only eight pitches. Kerkering walked the leadoff man in the eighth before giving way to Matt Strahm. Strahm allowed a hit to Riley before getting out of the inning, though he needed help from his defense on a great double play to end the inning. Craig Kimbrel shut the door in the ninth without messing around, going 1-2-3.
That was 5 1/3 scoreless innings from the bullpen, allowing just four hits and two walks while striking out four. And it was a team shutout against the only offense in MLB history to slug over .500.
The Braves hadn't been shut out at home since Aug. 28 ... of 2021.
What an absolutely Herculean effort from the Phillies bullpen.
Suárez, for his part, was only counted on by manager Rob Thomson to get 11 outs, but he didn't allow a single run in this time on the mound. He worked 3 2/3 innings, giving up just one hit and one walk while striking out four. The Phillies will heavily rely on two starting pitchers (Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola) along with their bullpen this postseason, but getting good work from Suárez just makes the jobs of the others that much easier.
4. Harper delivers again
The Phillies entered the sixth inning with a 1-0 lead, right off the heels of the Braves leaving two men on base. With one out in the sixth, Bryce Harper stepped to the plate and hit a rocket down the right-field line off Spencer Strider.
Scalded. It was 115 miles per hour off the bat. That's a little -- just a little -- breathing room for the Phillies' relievers. That marked the second run, first earned, allowed by Strider, the Braves ace. He generally threw well, but the Phillies got him for two runs on five hits in seven innings.
This shot was Harper's 12th career postseason home run in just 39 games. Last year, he hit six homers and drove home 15 in the playoffs as the Phillies advanced to the World Series. He is now 10 for 18 (.556) with three home runs and seven RBIs in five NLDS games against the Braves in the last two playoffs.
In Game 1 on Saturday, the Braves never got Harper out. He was 2 for 2 with two walks, two runs, a stolen base and an RBI.
5. D-backs, Phillies in the driver's seat
Historically, the team that wins Game 1 of a best-of-five series has gone on to win the series 71% of the time. That nudges up to 72% when the road team wins Game 1, as the D-Backs and Phillies did Saturday. Sunday is an NLDS off-day and then each team will have their ace on the mound for Game 2 on Monday: Zac Gallen for Arizona and Zack Wheeler for Philadelphia. These series are far from over, but the D-backs and Phillies are in very good shape one game in.