Oct 4, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies manager Rob Thomson (49) relieves pitcher David Robertson (30) in the seventh inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers during game one of the NLDS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
PHILADELPHIA - In the playoffs everything is magnified. One small decision. One missed opportunity, and it could mean your season.
For the Phillies, in a 5-3 loss to the Dodgers in Game 1 of the NLDS, there was one small decision and plenty of missed opportunities that put them square behind the eight ball for the rest of this series.
Let's start with the decision, which falls on the manager, but is certainly planned by several people on the coaching staff and in the analytics department.
Top of the seventh. One run lead. Shohei Ohtani is due up third with two righthanded hitter in front of him.
Rob Thomson and his staff have a decision. Who to pitch? Who comes in and gets these three outs?
David Robertson had finished the sixth inning, getting pinch hitter Max Muncy to weakly tap out back to the mound. It took him six pitches to get it done.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Phillies went down in order. It was Ohtani's last inning on the mound. He sandwiched a fly out by Alec Bohm with two strikeouts of Bryce Harper and Brandon Marsh.
It was a quick inning, so Thomson sent Robertson back out to start the seventh inning. He was only going to face two hitters, as Matt Strahm was starting to get warm to face Ohtani.
And that was Thomson's rationale for sticking with Robertson.
Rob Thomson explains his decisions managing the pitching staff in the Game 1 loss
- Leaving David Robertson in the game to start the 7th
- Deciding when to hook Cristopher Sanchez pic.twitter.com/Pc6aOT5Gsj
"I wanted to make sure we had a lefty on Ohtani," Thomson said. "If you bring in anybody else who is a righty, he's got to face Ohtani. That's really what it comes down to."
Fair enough. Except...
It was the first time Robertson was asked to come back out and pitch a second inning in a game since August 12.
Sorry. August 12, 2024.
Thomson said he thought about that a little bit, but the fact that he threw so few pitches combined with the short inning, he felt Robertson could have handled it.
And to be fair, he should. That's why he's here. That's what he's getting paid handsomely to do. Robertson didn't get the job done.
"I wasn't worried about that at all," Robertson said about being asked to pitch a second inning. "I've done it many times before. I just didn't make enough good pitches."
Thomson could have avoided this by bringing in Strahm for a clean inning. Sure, you aren't going Left on left there, but if Strahm doesn't get Ohtani, he's going to have to face Mookie Betts, at least. and maybe even Teoscar Hernandez.
If you are good with him facing those guys, why not have him start the inning against Andy Pages and Will Smith?
Those guys reached base against Robertson. Robertson just missed on a 2-2 cutter to Pages that was just below the zone. He threw a sixth straight cutter and missed his spot, and Pages hit a sharp ground ball past the diving Trea Turner into left field for a single.
David Robertson not getting the corners on his cutter is absolutely brutal. pic.twitter.com/d2RSHfDxNc
Three pitches later, a knuckle-curve by Robertson grazed the arm of Smith, and suddenly the Dodgers had two on and nobody out.
That's when Thomson went to Strahm.
Another option, of course, was Ranger Suarez, who Thomson said before the game was available out of the bullpen. When asked if that was an option, Thomson gave the shortest of answers.
"No," he said.
Without an explanation, we're left to speculate as to why not.
The easiest assumption was that announcing he was available to relieve was a bit of gamesmanship by the manager. Get the Dodgers thinking that he's an option out there, when in fact, he never was.
And if he's not, it's because he's lined up to start Game 3, and that's that.
Fine.
Either way, the two baserunners by Robertson were costly.
Strahm did strikeout Ohtani, who took a golden sombrero and struck out four times against Phillies lefties in Game 1 (he walked in the ninth inning against Jhoan Duran).
Strahm also got Betts to pop out to third base.
But then he missed a pitch to Teoscar Hernandez and... well...
TEOSCAR HERNÁNDEZ!@DODGERS LEAD! #NLDS pic.twitter.com/XeygIPFj4t
"I feel I got gut punched on missing two pitches and one of the two got damaged," Strahm said.
Matt Strahm reacts after the Game 1 loss
(Via @TimKellySports) pic.twitter.com/fGNzvaIKWi
Giving up a home run in the playoffs hurts, but it would have hurt much less if those two guys aren't on base against Robertson.
"It's a tough situation to battle out of and (Strahm) almost did the unthinkable and got out of it," Robertson said.
Except "almost" only counts in horseshoes.
It's a managerial decision that will have everyone talking for the next 48 hours, and if the Phillies lose the series, for the entire offseason.
But again, Robertson has to do his job. And the offense has to produce more than one big hit - which was J.T. Realmuto's two-run triple.
TWO-RUN TRIPLE FOR J.T. REALMUTO!
THE @PHILLIES STRIKE FIRST! #NLDS pic.twitter.com/xXmCURKk5r
He would score on a sacrifice fly and then any other runner the Phillies had was either stranded, or wiped out by a double play.
The Phillies were 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position aside from Realmuto's hit.
In addition, the top three guys in the Phillies lineup - the guys who have to carry the load if the Phillies want to win a championship, were a combined 1-11 with a walk and six strikeouts.
"I thought we missed some pitches over the plate and chased a little bit," said Harper, who did have the one hit of the three - a single off of Tyler Glasnow in the eighth. "We just didn't get it done. We just got to turn the page and get ready for Monday."
Yes, Monday. Game 2. An absolute must win game for the Phillies. Never mind the fact that since the playoffs expanded to six teams per league in 2022 in the NLDS teams that lost Game 1 proceeded to lose 11 of 12.
Kyle Schwarber on how the Phillies can rebound from this loss.
(Via @TimKellySports) pic.twitter.com/oCqiKw6vcZ
If the Phillies expect to win that game and save their season, they need to do two things better than they did in Game 1.
1. Manage the bullpen properly.
2. Have their superstars hit.
Because continued failure to have both happen will pull the plug on October really quick.
