The series against the Dodgers ended in defeat, Orion Kerkering literally throwing away any chance the Phillies had at bringing the series back to Philadelphia for a fifth and deciding game. It was a bitter disappointment to take, another opportunity wasted with the core they have in place.
Yet, as we’ve seen something emerge from this series, the Phillies really do have an effective gameplan with which they can keep Shohei Ohtani in check. This fourth game was the finale to the series and offered a glimpse of not only a team perfecting its plan, but also showing the respect due to Ohtani. They were fully cognizant of the fact that even while keeping him down, he is able to change a game with one swing, especially in the highest of leveraged situations. That’s good managing.
So while we know the final outcome of the game, it’s worth revisiting, one last time, how well the team did in executing their gameplan against the best player in the world.
You can imagine that by now, Ohtani has entered the stage where he is frustrated. While his team is doing well, on a personal level, he has done nothing at the plate to help the team win. In a clinching game, if he were able to get the team a lead in his first at bat, it might set the stage for a victory that brings them to the NLCS.
So, he swings at the first pitch.
Of course, the Phillies and Cristopher Sanchez are aware of this theoretical need to help the team that Ohtani has and they have continued to execute the gameplan in place to perfection. Having the sinker in on his hands at 96 miles per hour, Ohtani correctly guesses first pitch fastball, but is unable to get that pitch out over the plate and pops up it harmlessly.
Did I mention the 18 inches of horizontal break Sanchez was able to get?
Two things about this plate appearance that crack me up.
First is the commentator, Jeff Francoeur I think, that says “Gotta get that ball out over the plate!” Assuming he is talking about Ohtani and not the batter before, does he think the Phillies are going to go away from the plan that has worked so well for them?
Second, that ball that is hit right to Alec Bohm was ruled a fielder’s choice for Ohtani. The error allowed the runner, Enrique Hernandez, to move up to third. I don’t understand official scorers anymore.
I mean, what more can we say? This sequence is about as good as it gets when pitching to Ohtani. At first glance, I thought that he was showing actual frustration after fouling off the second pitch of the at bat, but it’s really just his usual thing of apologizing (?) for hitting a foul ball in the Phillies’ direction. The changeup to get him swinging though is just a thing of beauty. If he wasn’t swinging at it, it was going to be called a strike.
This might be the at bat that perfectly encapsulates what Andrew Friedman was talking about: executing a gameplan to perfection.
Nothing to see here, folks. An intentional walk was ordered.
At this point in the series, Ohtani had one hit. He had been held in check almost completely by the team….and he’s still the most dangerous hitter they have. When he steps to the plate, the Phillies are up one, runners are on second and third with two out and first base is open. Mookie Betts, the hitter behind him, would face Duran as a right handed hitter, even with the bases loaded.
The leverage index for this spot was 4.45, according to Baseball Reference.
It’s a no brainer to walk Ohtani. Thomson was 100% correct here.
The first pitch is Ohtani trying to win the game. As it was in the first at bat, Luzardo put the ball in a perfect, perfect spot, preventing that game winner from happening. The second pitch is a whoops by Luzardo, a ball that should have been hit about 700 feet had Ohtani been locked in.
The third pitch is another beauty from Luzardo, a sweeper at juuuuuust enough velocity to get him thinking something is there that isn’t there.
The Phillies, for lack of a better word, owned Ohtani during the NLDS. There is no shame in it; the Phillies had very good pitching. All the pitchers that they threw at Ohtani will be back in 2026 should a matchup be created in the playoffs once again. While this series will be dissected by Ohtani throughout the offseason, it’s at least something to hang their hat on in what was a disappointing ending to the season.
It ain’t much, but it’s something positive.