The Rise of the Jolly Roger 2025 NLDS Game 2 – Philadelphia Phillies @ Pittsburgh Pirates (PGH 1-0)
sandwiched between Maseroski Way and the Roberto Clemente Bridge. Welcome to PNC Park. The show presents the National League Division Series. It’s the Philadelphia Phillies going up against the Pittsburgh Pirates. And we’ll be back with the first pitch right after this. So digging in now for Philadelphia. Trey Turner to kick the pitch that misses. And that’s ball one. That one hammered but pulled fouled. the pitch and another ball. Well, coming off of a blowout loss in the previous game, this lineup can’t try to do too much. They’ve just got to stay within themselves, take each pitch, each at bat, one by one, and try to push runs across as often as possible. He steps on the bag, one out in the top of the first. Brandon in the box with one away as he takes ball one. One out. Base is empty. Lace down the line. This looks like extra bases around first and hustling for second. The throw in. And that’s a twobagger. He was all over that one. Just a solid swing right there. Caught it out front and ripped it into the outfield for the base hit. Those always feel great towards first. Into the outfield base hit. Fires it to the plate. It’s off the mark and he scores. Oh, no waiting around right there. He was ready to swing it on the first pitch. Just one of those scene high base hits through the infield. He just kind of rolled over on it a little bit, but sometimes those can find a hole and get you enough. Nick Castanos stands in now. Looks at that one inside. We talked so much about how starting pitchers prepare for their starts. I talked with Max Freed and one of the things he told me back in 19. He and Lucas Gilo started using MLB The Show to go over scouting reports. Swings threw that one out in front that time. Matt said he’s not sure who actually started it first, but it was 2019 and me and Gito, who were teammates together in high school in Los Angeles, they had the idea to become more familiar with the opposing lineup using MLB to show and he’ll one. And that drops in for a strike and miss struck him out. That ends the frame. Here’s [Music] O’Neal Cruz. We’ll always remember how Cruz left his mark on Major League Baseball in his debut. Three innings into his first game, he had the hardest throw by any infielder in baseball, the hardest hit ball all season by a Pirate and the fastest sprint speed by a Pirate. This guy does it all. [Applause] The pitch swing and a miss. Struck him out. Brendan Donovan, the next Pirate to hit. Ground ball up the middle. That’s a base hit. So they get a man aboard with a one out single. Wastes no time there. Once you get the ball by the pitcher, there’s a lot of base hits up the middle, even on ground balls. So, a nice job to use that big hole and get himself a hit. Brian Reynolds here. That’s down and in. [Applause] And he deals swinging in a highf fly ball out there towards left field. flashes the leather on the run and catch and there’s two down. Here is JD Martinez. [Applause] That gets through. Throw in holds the lead runner at second. Two on now with two away. Man, those are the types of hits where you don’t feel any vibration in your hands whatsoever. Such a good feeling. Got the top of the ball a little bit, but not much. That was hit pretty hard through the infield. So, I think he’ll be happy with that. Ah, ground ball and that’s through the infield. Here comes the throw, but it’s offline. He will score. We’re tied at one. Couple of singles back to back. Ty on the swing was good. Able to shoot the ball up the middle. Didn’t square it up as much as he probably would have liked, but that’s a good approach paying off. And the batter now, Jack Sinski, swings through that. It’s great to get on the board in the first frame of the ball game, but here’s an opportunity for them to really open things up with a couple of runners on. Let’s see if they can cash in. Two on, two outs. [Applause] Good chase that time. It’s a big opportunity right here, but I love the way he’s slowing the game down. He’s shrinking his zone, making sure he gets the pitch that he wants to hit. Swing and a miss. He was late. Strike two. I think he was sitting off speed there. Two outs and another ball outside and that is ball four. Well, that sets up a really big bat in this game. And these are the moments when everyone in the stadium gets really locked in. Now batting Key Brian Hayes. First pitch. Not close. [Applause] swing and he popped it up. Turner should have it. He’s got it. And that’s the inning. [Music] back here at PNC Park. And now the DH, Ralffo Castro. Got to love the intensity of postseason baseball. Players on both sides at such a high level of emotion. Everything is amplified. Free back to work now. One close rule to ball. Ball one. Talk about that intensity, Boo. It comes out of everybody. Think about celebrations by players like Carlos Perea, Jose Bautista, Kirk Gibson. Just iconic moments. Strike two. Swings. And this is Looks like he’s picked up right where he left off. This is Bryson stop. [Applause] and immediately pumps in a strike to the left-handed hitter. Tied up here in the early going. Right through there for a strike. 02 count. Both pitches on the inside part of the plate. Hitter is thinking I don’t want to get beat here. This is a good time for something off speed away. Ow. And two now on the ground to third. Sneaks through base hit. So a man aboard now with one away. Johan Rojas stands in for the Phillies. Ball one there. Mann at first. One away. [Applause] This is one of those situations the infielders have to pre-plan. Runner on the go. Pitch in for a strike. Throw is low and he can’t pick it. Safe at second. And that was not close. Kicks and fires. knocks that one away and we’ll do it again. And he grounds one to the right side into the outfield. Base hit. Here’s the throw to the plate. It’s offline. The run comes in. It’s 2-1. Mission accomplished there as he picks up the RBI to give them the lead. Didn’t try to do too much with it. Just a really controlled, simple swing. We don’t see a whole lot of that these days with hitters trying to launch and hit home runs. But sometimes you got to shorten up just like that. And strike one to the catcher. That one catches the zone and it’s one and two. Cuts and misses. It’s a strike out. So the Philly batting order turns over. Digging in. Trey Turner 0 for one. He ground it out in his first at bat and a foul ball third base side. Two outs. Run around to go. That’s in for a strike. Low throw and he can’t take it out. Safe at second and he easily steals the bag. Man, is he fast. He’s so fun to watch. Gets a piece and it stays 0 and two. The pitch. Good job to fight that one off. Runner at second. Two down here in game two of the NLDS. Just missed. that just misses and it’s two and two. Now he’s desperately looking for that swing and miss. He’s going to have to just change speeds a little bit. Try to move it around. Create just a little bit of illusion at the end. And another ball. Ground ball scooped up to Brian Hayes over to first and they get Turner for the out. That ends the inning and they limit the damage. [Music] Back here in Pittsburgh, we head to the bottom of the second. Now the left fielder, Ezekiel Durant, the pitch line to right and that’ll be a base hit. So a man on base to start the inning. Didn’t take long to get a result for that at bat. Anytime you rip a line drive the other way, you feel really good about what you did at the plate. You trusted your hands. You let the ball travel and you took the bill straight to it. That’s great work right there. Henry Davis the next takes ball one. Righty delivers fall off foul. If it were an average catcher behind the plate, I’d say take second base. But this isn’t a catcher you want to run on. His quick release is unreal. at the belt and fires. Swing and a highf fly ball to left. Marsh moves under it. Drops into the glove and there’s one away. Just pulled off of it a little bit right there. That front shoulder coming open instead of staying closed. If he does that, he’s going to be able to go up the middle the other way with some authority instead of a fly out to left. Cruz at the plate now as he chases after that one. Good pitch right there. Anytime you can get one by a bat of this caliber, especially with runners on, it’s got to give you some confidence out there on the mound that you can win this battle. [Applause] Ground ball to Bow, the throw to second, on to first. Save. So they get one, but a really nice try there. Brendan Donovan will hit next. [Applause] Swinging a foul back. That’s out of play. Kick. Sand deals. Ruer takes off. Pitches low. Rio throws. Not in time. It’s a stolen base. The Phillies up by a run here in game two. and a base hit around third. The throw in, but it’s off. It’s 22. Well, we’re starting over again. All tied up. That pretty much split the zone down the middle. And those are the ones where you got to make them pay. Runner first with two away. Brian Reynolds getting ready to hit. Fouled off to the right. Donovan leads off first with two down to the inning. and a foul ball. The pitch that’s out to Setterfield makes the play and it’s out number three. [Music] And we’re back. Top half of the third inning. Brandon Marsh steps to the plate. The wind to the pitch. Marsh 27 years old and he was a second round pick back in 2016. You know, these Phils showing great discipline at the plate and patience definitely seems to be the name of their game in this one. They’re doing a good job of working the pitch count and they’ve been able to push a couple of runs across the score as well. Left hand hitter waits. Just missed. Still relatively early, but with a pair of runs already on the board, the ripple effect of that high pitch count might set him up to do more damage later in this game. Got it fouled for the K. Bryce Harper to the plate. Singled and drove in a run his first time through. That’s in for a strike at 95 and it’s 0 and one. [Applause] And that’s in the dirt. One down. Base is empty. And there’s the strike. [Applause] That one 95 to finish him off. Here’s Nicholas Castanos caught looking his first time up. [Applause] Right through there for a strike. [Applause] Next offering is in for a strike. Two outs. Base is empty. Fights it off. He’ll see another [Applause] swing and a miss and he’s down on strikes and it’s a one, two, three inning as we go to the last of the third. Here’s some real power at the plate. JD Martinez. Martinez. That one’s in there. That’s strike one. Ripped on the ground to second over to first in time. One gone. Bottom of the third inning. Up to the plate is Brandon Belts. He’s already singled in this game. Belt swinging a drive deep right field. Gone. And that gives him a lead. It’s 3-2. You see how he stays square to the plate. He takes a breaking ball that’s away, gets around it, gets it up in the air, and hits a long home run. Not exactly the way that you teach it in the cage, but you’ll take the result. And now here is Jack Sinski. A swing and a miss. And that’s strike one. late with the swing there. The line of the pitch. Next offering popped in the air right field. Castanos puts it away for the out and there are two down. Two outs. Base is empty. Kebrian Hayes the next Pirate to hit. Ripped on a line to center. pulls it in on the run. And that is that. We’re in the second game of this division series. And now it’s Alec Bow as the lefty gets to work. Clips the outside corner for one. Slice the other way. That’s a base hit. Next to hit, Ralffo Castro in for a strike. Boom. Aboard here at first with nobody out. That’s off the mark and it’s one and one. Way to lay off that pitch down. swings and misses. Strike him out. Now it’s going to be Bryson stop. Singled scored his first time. That one’s in there. It’s over one. Basketball for a strike. Got him looking. That’s the second half. And stepping in is the speedy Johan Roance. Single. Stole a bases first time. That misses the zone. And that is ball. Little bit low. Two outs. Fouls one off. Two and two. And a pitch. Got him. Swinging for the strike out. Some high cheese for strike three. And welcome back to the ballpark. The batter now Ezekiel the rightander back to work. turned on but foul wide of third. [Applause] That one misses and the count is one and one. [Applause] Right through there for a strike. Next pitch inside. The countdown two and two. Hit in the air. Right field. Castanos gets under it. Makes the catch and there’s one gone. Now Henry Davis fly to left his first time. Down one. Misses in the dirt. What chase that time swing and a highf fly ball in the air left field. March going back and it is gone and they add a run. It’s 42. The cutter up and in can be such a tough pitch for the hitters. You have to keep your hands above the baseball. And that’s exactly what he did. He caught it out front and drove it out of here. Cruz now at the plate as he swings through strike one. One strike. So O’Neal Cruz is named after Paul O’Neal. That was his father’s idol in baseball. So he named his son O’Neal. In 2022, they finally met each other when the Pirates played the Yankees in New York. And I’m sure that was a moment that O’Neal Cruz will never forget. Now a high-fly ball out to left center. Marsh calls it in to away. It’s a good recovery though after giving up the home run. Not allowing it to stay in the head but going to work at the next hitter. And a tough one at that. [Applause] Swinging a foul straight back. And ball one. [Applause] This one in the air. Harper makes the catch. And over back here at PNC Park. And here’s the catcher, JT Realm Muto. And a pitch that misses. And that’s ball one. Well, these Phillies digging into their numbers have to be happy with the swings they’re taking. They’ve hit seven line drives already. And even though some of them have been for outs, there’s nothing wrong with delivering consistent hard contact. That’s almost always going to lead to positive results. And that one clips the corner. [Applause] And here it comes. Got him looking. And he did not like the call. So the batting order turns over. Here’s Trey Turner. Fast ball for a strike. And it’s over. [Applause] One down, base is empty. Fights that one away and the count remains 0 and two. Swing and a ball lined out towards center. Two away. Digging in, it’s the speedy outfielder Brandon Mos. One for two. And the pitch a little bit low. Ball one right through there for a strike. Chris, we were excited to watch him pitch. This is a little more along the lines of what we’re expecting performance-wise. Yeah, boo. Great pitchers like this, you may get one opportunity in one inning to get to them, to get some runs up on the board, and if you don’t take it, then you may see zeros the rest of the ball game. Battling here as he fouls it away. The lefty fires, swinging a miss, and he got him. And good work there as he gets a one two three [Music] ready to go for the last half of the inning at the plate for Pittsburgh. Brian Reynolds. Wheeler back to work and that’s in there at the knees. Well, the game plan for this offense has been pretty clear. They’re being aggressive at the plate, but still finding ways to pick their spots without falling into the habit of being overaggressive. Five hits for him on the first pitch alone. So, they’re swinging and connecting right out of the gates. Swing and a miss as he was out front that time. Comes up empty as he chases that one in the dirt. Real up with it. fires to first in time to get him. One away in the strikeout. Swing and a fly ball in the air out towards right center field. Stop. Makes the catch for the owl. And there’s two away. Two out. Space is empty. Now a chance for Brandon Bell. Warning track. Whoa. And you can catch them all. Baseball man. Another homer. His second home run of the game. And they add to their lead. It’s 52. Love to see a hitter aggressive on the first pitch of an at bat. You watch it from the on deck circle. So when you step in the box, you’re ready to pull the trigger wherever it’s at. Really good job by the hitter. Total conviction on that swing. [Applause] So two away with nobody on. Now here is Jack Sinski and first offering is fouled off. Two down to he swings and fouls one off. [Applause] The 02 and that’s outside. Rarely will you see a pitcher just a wasted pitch like that. The batter wasn’t even tempted to swing. Every pitch needs to have a purpose so that it can set up a following pitch to help you get that out. Throws to first. That’s the third out. Inning over. New inning getting started. And now the first baseman, Bryce Harper. Harper goes 6 feet 3 in 32 years old and he’s one of the few twotime MVPs in the league. That one way outside 1 and0 foul ball there. Pretty good pitch to take a pass at and a one count. Just not able to square it up. Next offering is in for a strike. swings through it and that’s a strike out. Nick Castiano’s at the plate now who’s 0 for two with a pair of strikeouts. First pitch and he just misses. The Pirates leading by three and we’re in the top half of the six. Next offering in there for a strike and it’s one and one. Just missed. Swing and a ground ball up the middle. That’s a base hit. Well, they call that an advantage count for a reason. You’re so much more likely to get something you can handle. just kept it simple. Played pepper with the middle of the infield and took it back where it came from. And there’s just no one there to knock it down. Here comes the pitch. Line drive. Caught. That swing right there tells me he’s seeing the ball pretty well. I know it didn’t produce a hit, but he made solid contact and that’s all you’re looking to do anytime you’re at the plate. Castro in the box again. Takes a strike and a swing and a miss. What makes him special is a lot of pitchers lose movement in their stuff the deeper they go into a game. But he’s just different. We see plenty of break in his pitches even when he’s running a little low in the tank. Come back to the mound. The throw to first and that is that. Back now for the bottom of the six. And there’s a new pitcher on the m Taiwan Walker. Pretty tight game. So they’re looking for quality pitches out of him right here. Got to do his best to keep the score right where it is at the plate. Kean Hayes. The wind of the pitch and first offering is fouled off. [Applause] Right-handed reliever swinging a miss. 0 and two. Got him. And that’s the first out. Ezekiel Durant, the next Pirate to hit. Swings through that one for strike one. Base is empty. One away here in the bottom of the six. Wouldn’t chase that time. way out front for strike two. From a pitcher’s perspective, that’s a beautiful splitter right there. As a hitter, you don’t like it. But he’s commanded his fast ball and out of that same tunnel, that splitter comes and the bottom just falls out of it. Two out, space is empty. So, next to the plate for Pittsburgh, Henry Davis pulls that one foul. [Applause] Right-hander kicks, deals inside corner and that’s called a strike. Really good cutter that he’s able to front door and back door. That pitch is devastating. Swings and misses. It’s a strike out. Riuto to first and the Pirates go one, two, three. [Music] And we’re back all set for the start of the inning. Now here is Bryson stop. A new arm into the game. The righty Dowry Moretta [Applause] and a pitch that clips the corner. Cold night like tonight, last thing you want to do as a hitter is get jammed or even off the end. Trying to find that sweet spot on the bat. Tell you what, you’re going to be trying to catch things out front. So off speed pitches may be a good complement to that fast. The other way calls it in for the out. It’s never fun going back to the dugout after hitting a line drive that finds a glove. But you will get some high fives. You know when you make great contact, you feel like you’ve done everything right. But in this game of baseball, not everything is in your control. One down, base is empty. Swinging a foul over the screen and back out of play. Righty to the plate. Got him swinging. Slider got him for strike three. JT Real Mutil steps in. [Applause] And first offering is fouled off. And there’s a ball. Next offer in there for a strike at the count. One and two. He goes down looking. Set for the last half of the seventh. And now the Pirates lead off man O’Neal Cruz. [Music] Walker back to work now. One missed. Walker, a former allstar. He features a splitter, a sinker, a cutter, a fourseamer, and he occasionally uses a curve. Next offering way off the plate. And another ball. Left hand batters and a foul ball. So now three and two. Swaying a miss. Struck him out and one away in the bottom of the seventh. Up next for the Pirates, Brendan Donovan. Yeah, big swing and a miss. That split is a pretty nasty pitch. Explodes out of the hand. Looks like a fast ball and the bottom just falls out of it. Righty delivers this to center field. Rojos moving under this one. Two away now. Digging in is the switch inning outfielder Brian Reynolds and a foul ball [Applause] and now it’s even up. Two down, nobody on. You’re in the late stages of game two. Swing and a miss as he chases that one darting out of the zone. throwing the ball well and they need this scoreless inning in relief right here. I think doing a good job keeping him in striking distance. Lifted in the air out to left. Marsh pulls it down and that is that back here in Pittsburgh. The batter will be the shorts stop Trey Turner and he outside low and it’s one and0. [Applause] Next offering misses down and away. [Applause] swings through it for the K. Blew the express right by his bat for strike three. Brandon Marsh digs in now. So lefty out of the ped Jose Hernandez. swaying in a miss. Well, it’s critical right here that they bear down and turn in some quality at bats. Try to chip away at that lead because if it gets to the ninth, that closer’s coming in. Base hit. That was smoked through the infield. Everything came together perfectly for him right there. wasn’t able to elevate that one, but he sure hit it hard enough to get through the infield. There’s not a whole lot of time for the defenders to react and try to make a play when it’s ripped like that. Parker batting with one down, takes the strike into center and a base hit. They fired in quickly, so it’s first and second with only one away. Two consecutive base hits for these guys here. Just a cookie down the middle. I mean, those are the ones you dream about. One’s in the cage. You’re This one swung on and hit well way back there and that one is off the top of the wall. One runs in now. A second crosses the plate. Back within one. It’s by four. Nicely done. Brings home two. Anytime you smoke a ball off the wall, you kind of think about what it could have. Pirates with a new arm on the mound. Zack Jackson. Pretty big spot he’s coming into. trying to strain that runner at second base. So, he’s going to need to make some quality pitches. He does have first, but if he needs to use it. And now, Alec B right down to shoot. Strike one. Swing and a miss as he was late. He’s falling behind in a huge spot, but we’ve got to do what it takes to come through. Maybe choke up on the bat a little bit, spread out those feet, whatever it takes. Swing and a miss. Stripped him out. And now Rulo Castro 0 for three with two strikeouts and a ground out. That one finds the zone 41. One there. You don’t want to get beat by a fast ball in. And he spits on that one. swing a popup in foul ground. Drifts towards it and that’s a foul ball. So the tying run at second. Got it working. That’s a strike out. And welcome back to the ballpark. Bottom of the eighth. And here is JD Martinez. the pitch. No balls in a strike to JD. And it’s quickly nothing and two on the designated hitter. The punch out there and now one away. And here’s the first baseman, Brandon Bell. Three for three with a pair of home runs and a single. Wouldn’t chase that time. Out in front with the swing. And that is strike one. Base is empty. One away here. The bottom half of the eighth inning. Waves to Bender for the strike out. Now it’s the right fielder Jack Sinski. Swing and this one’s bounced on the ground. Whips it to first. Three up, three down. Inning over. Back here at PNC Park. All set to start the ninth in this one. And digging in for Philadelphia. David Bnar comes on now. I think closer has to be one of the toughest jobs in baseball and we see a pretty high turnover rate because of it. Every outing seems to be high pressure, this one included. We’ll see if he can wrap up the win and get himself a save. The pitch. There’s the strike trying to keep good speed off the bases and that is cut out and miss and the count is 0 and two. and misses. It’s a strike out. Johan Rohox stands in for the Phillies. One for three. Foul back our way. And that’s out of play. Looking to get the tying run on base. Just missed. on the ground to short. Toss the belt and they’re down to their last out. And up to the plate is JT Rio Mutoo. That’s a huge defensive play in the late stages of the game. It might not be the most challenging we’ve seen today, but it needed to be made. That’s helping your team. [Applause] This could end it. Got him. And that is the ball game. This is what you call taking care of business. When you’ve got home field advantage and you win the first two games of the series, that’s what you come to the ballpark to do. They’ve worked hard to get to this point. Now they’re in the driver’s seat. We’ll see how they do once this series continues. But so far they’ve set the tone. So Chris, here’s a look at the final numbers from what turned out to be a really close ball game. Yeah, this is one of those games that clearly could have gone either way. And that’s kind of exactly what you expect out of postseason baseball. So competitive. Close one here today. And your final 54. They hang on to win it by a run. For Chris Singleton and our entire crew here at MLB the show, thanks for stopping by. I’m John Shami. Talk to you soon. [Music] Now is our final line tonight for the Victori. No, they left four. [Music] No, they left runners on the ball.
Game Date: October 4, 2025 at PNC Park, Pittsburgh, PA
Starting Pitchers: PHL RHP Zack Wheeler (0-1, 7.20) vs PGH LHP Max Fried (0-0, 0.00)
Series
Game 1 (Oct 4) at Pittsburgh – Pirates 13 Phillies 1
PITTSBURGH PIRATES PLAYOFF ROSTER
Starting Pitchers: RHP Mitch Keller (23), RHP Paul Skenes (30), RHP Jared Jones (37), LHP Max Fried (54), LHP Bailey Falter (26)
Relief Pitchers: LHP Eric Lauer (55), LHP Genesis Cabrera (92), RHP Dauri Moreta (36), LHP Scott Alexander (56), RHP Colin Holderman (35), LHP Jose Hernandez (85), RHP Zach Jackson (31)
Closer: RHP David Bednar (51)
Catchers: Henry Davis (32), Endy Rodriguez (25)
Infielders: Ke’Bryan Hayes (13), Oneil Cruz (15), Ezequiel Duran (27), Brandon Belt (14), Nick Gonzales (29), Carlos Santana (41), Brendan Donovan (34)
Outfielders: J.D. Martinez (28), Bryan Reynolds (10), Jack Suwinski (65), Michael A. Taylor (18), Andrew McCutchen (22)