Phillies execute plan to stop Braves: Hard-throwing relievers blank MLB’s top offense to win Game 1

ATLANTA — Four hours before the curtain went up on another Phillies-Braves postseason drama, Rob Thomson sat at his desk in the visiting manager’s office and shared a secret.

The Phillies had a plan to stop the unstoppable Braves offense.

“Their slug is way down vs. velocity,” he said, “and we’ve got that.”

Never mind, then, that Ranger Suárez gave up one measly hit to the first 13 Braves batters Saturday night. Thomson stayed on script and turned the final 16 outs into a bullpen relay race, unleashing one flamethrowing reliever after another on the Braves for 5⅓ innings.

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Lo and behold, it actually worked. Jeff Hoffman, Seranthony Domínguez, José Alvarado, rookie sensation Orion Kerkering, Matt Strahm, and, finally, Craig Kimbrel passed the baton and — with a considerable defensive assist from Trea Turner — muted the mighty Braves in a red-handed 3-0 stealing of Game 1 to seize control of the best-of-five divisional round series.

It marked the first time since May 12 that the Braves got shut out — and the first time since Aug. 28, 2021, that they got shut out at home.

“That’s a pretty incredible stat,” catcher J.T. Realmuto said after the reliever six-pack allowed four hits and two walks in 5⅓ innings. “Every single one of them came in and had their best stuff. It’s an incredible lineup. To be able to shut them out with that many pitchers is pretty special.”

And now, after 104 wins and a record-tying 307 home runs and the highest single-season slugging percentage in history (.501), the Braves are faced with this sobering reality: They must defeat Phillies ace Zack Wheeler on Monday night to avoid going back to Citizens Bank Park with their season on life support.

Gulp.

“We’ve got to regroup and come back and win Monday,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “We can’t, I don’t think, dwell on [Game 1]. We’ve just got to look forward to the next game.”

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But the Braves — and maybe some of the frustrated fans among the sold-out crowd of 43,689 who threw trash on the field in the eighth inning — must be wondering if the Phillies have their number for a second consecutive October.

The Phillies’ pitching strategy was enabled, in part, because of unusual scheduling. With a day off Sunday between Games 1 and 2, Thomson was able to empty the bullpen without worrying about using anyone on back-to-back days.

Thomson didn’t share the plan with Suárez because he didn’t want him to alter his preparation. He did tell all the relievers because he wanted them to ready when the bullpen phone rang earlier than expected.

And he briefed Realmuto, too, that he planned to manage more like it was “do or die” than a series opener. Realmuto called the game accordingly, treating Suárez “like a closer in the first inning because we weren’t necessarily trying to save his best pitches or set guys up for a second or third at-bat.”

It wasn’t without risk. Suárez, after all, threw 53 oh-so-cool pitches, cruising once through the lineup. But the Phillies made a calculation. This was their best bet to stun the Braves.

”All moves are scrutinized this time of year, I get it,” Thomson said. “If that didn’t work out, it would be scrutinized. But it is what it is and you’ve got to make the best decision in your mind that needs to be made.”

The pitching gambit was helped along by solid defense. Turner, in particular, made a run-saving play in the eighth inning. With two on and one out, he dove to his left to smother Ozzie Albies’ scorcher, then made a backhanded flip to second to start a rally-killing double play.

“I was kind of like, ‘Whoa,’ and I was in the play,” second baseman Bryson Stott said. “That was really cool.”

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But in stymying the Braves, the Phillies also relied on shrewd scouting. For all of their offensive achievements, the Braves slugged .396 on pitches that were 97 mph or faster compared to .512 on 96 and slower. And the Phillies happen to have the hardest-throwing bullpen in baseball.

It was an exploitable advantage, especially in Game 1.

“Our bullpen is a massive advantage no matter who we’re lined up with just because they all throw so hard,” Realmuto said. “Almost none of them throw a straight fastball. It’s hard with a lot of movement.“

Thomson went to Hoffman first, with a 1-0 lead, two on, and one out in the fourth inning. And it almost unraveled. Hoffman walked Marcell Ozuna to load the bases and fell behind Michael Harris II before throwing a nasty front-foot splitter for a third strike.

Next up: Domínguez, who struggled for much of the season and didn’t pitch in the two-game wild-card sweep of the Marlins. But on his son’s third birthday, he cranked up his fastball to 98 mph, scraped 99, and struck out Ronald Acuña Jr. and Austin Riley.

“Those two strikeouts changed the entire game,” Realmuto said.

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Then came Alvarado, who dispatched the middle of the Braves’ order, including lefty-hitting, 54-homer Matt Olson in the sixth inning. Thomson went to Alvarado earlier than usual because of his extreme confidence in Kerkering.

Forget that Kerkering — referred to affectionately by Hoffman as “The Diaper” — began the season in low-A and didn’t make his major-league debut until late September. Thomson trusts the 22-year-old with the game on the line.

Sure enough, with a two-run lead built on Bryce Harper’s sixth-inning home run against Braves starter Spencer Strider, Kerkering retired the bottom of the Braves’ order on eight pitches in the seventh. Thomson left him in to start the eighth, and when he walked Acuña, the Phillies turned to Strahm, who gave up a hit, got a long fly ball from Olson, and help from Turner.

Kimbrel closed it out in the ninth, the finishing touch on a tour-de-force pitching performance that included 31 pitches at 97 mph or faster and a game script that worked out flawlessly.

“This game was very important for us for multiple reasons,” Realmuto said. “But with our guys lined up, Wheeler and [Aaron] Nola going next, that’s a really good team over there. To keep them on their heels is the most important thing. Game 1 is huge in any series, but I feel like especially so in this one.

”Their lineup over there is incredible, but I trust our pitching staff against them as much as anybody else.”