The Philadelphia Phillies powered their way to 5-3 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks in Monday's Game 1 of the National League Championship Series. The reigning NL champs got three early home runs from Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper, and Nick Castellanos, and for the first time in his career D-backs ace Zac Gallen allowed three homers in the first two innings of a start.
One the other side, Philly starter Zack Wheeler turned in yet another strong postseason outing, and Rob Thomson's bullpen managed to preserve the lead across the late innings, albeit precariously so at times.
The 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series puts the Phillies three wins away from returning to the World Series for a second straight year. The Diamondbacks had been 5-0 this postseason prior to the loss in Game 1.
Now for some takeaways from the 2023 NLCS opener.
1. Schwarber made postseason history
Phillies slugger and leadoff hitter Kyle Schwarber got things started as early as possible in Game 1, as he ambushed a first-pitch fastball from Zac Gallen and sent deep into the Philly evening:
That one left the bat at 117.1 mph (!) and traveled 420 feet for a 1-0 Philly lead. For Schwarber it was his fourth career postseason leadoff home run, and as Sarah Langs noted that's an all-time record. Overall, it was Schwarber's 16th career home run in 59 career playoff games.
Two batters later, Bryce Harper on the occasion of his 31st birthday also homered on a first-pitch fastball from Gallen. That staked ace Zack Wheeler to an early 2-0 lead.
2. Castellanos stayed hot – historically hot
Nick Castellanos, the Phils' warrior-poet, cracked two home runs in each of the last two games of the NLDS against the Braves. Then in the second inning of Game 1 of the NLCS, he went deep (yet) again:
That was Castellanos' fifth home run in, at the time, his last eight at-bats going back to Game 3 of the NLDS against the Braves. Casty's blasties! Even more impressive is that Castellanos joined Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson – Mr. October himself – as the only players to hit five home runs in a span of three postseason games. Walking with the playoff gods, that. As well, Castellanos' home run means the 2023 Phillies had logged 12 home runs in the three-game span, which is a playoff record.
3. Zack Wheeler did what he needed to do
Wheeler gave the Phils six at time dominant innings in Game 1. Over that span, he allowed just three hits and struck out eight against no walks. He leaned heavily on his mid-90s fastball (plus good extension that makes the velocity play up), and overall he generated 17 whiffs. At one point, Wheeler retired 15 batters in a row. The two runs came on a sixth-inning homer by Geraldo Perdomo. However, the Perdomo home run had a mere .140 expected batting average, so there was some bad luck involved from Wheeler's standpoint.
Wheeler came into this start with a career ERA of 2.59 in eight playoff starts with 51 strikeouts and eight walks. His Game 1 effort continues that trend of postseason excellence.
4. The Diamondbacks are in a tough spot … for now
The D-backs are down 0-1 in this best-of-seven series. So what does history tell us about such straits? Across all best-of-seven MLB postseason series, the team losing Game 1 on the road goes on to lose the series 68.5% of the time. Such teams also go on to lose Game 2 55.6% of the time. Win Game 2, though, and the Diamondbacks will turn this into, in essence, a best-of-five series and seize home-field advantage away from the Phillies. So, yes, the stakes will be high on Tuesday.
Up next: Game 2 on Tuesday
The pivotal second game of the series back in Philly pits right-hander Merrill Kelly of the Diamondbacks against Phillies co-ace Aaron Nola. Kelly is coming off a strong start against the Dodgers in the NLDS, while Nola this postseason has a 1.42 ERA over two starts with 12 strikeouts in 12 2/3 innings. The win in Game 1 means the Phillies are now 27-11 in playoff games at Citizens Bank Park and 5-0 at home this postseason.
