Matt Strahm, Phillies bullpen struggle again against the Mets but remain confident

Matt Strahm retreated Sunday night to the clubhouse after the Mets jumped him for the second straight game. He was one of the most reliable relievers in baseball this season. But Strahm was rocked in the first two games of the National League Division Series.

Another brutal loss — this one pushing the Phillies to the brink of elimination — felt near. And then the clubhouse walls started shaking.

“Rumbles,” Strahm said.

The rumbles in the clubhouse meant that Strahm was off the hook. He blew the lead by allowing a tying two-run homer to Mark Vientos with one out in the ninth. But Strahm didn’t blow the game as Nick Castellanos’ walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth made it feel like there was a fault line under Pattison Avenue.

Strahm’s ERA (1.87) was the ninth-best among all relievers this season and he was even better down the stretch, allowing just one run in his final 15 appearances. So it was stunning to see him struggle in the Mets’ five-run eighth inning of Game 1, an inning that started with Jeff Hoffman allowing two singles, a walk, and the tying run in the 1-0 game to that point. Strahm faced three batters, allowed two singles and a sacrifice fly, the Mets took the lead, and his day was finished. The Mets, Strahm said, smelled “blood in the water.” A day later, they smelled it again. But the sting wasn’t as bad on Sunday once the walls started rumbling.

“I’ve been a reliever for a long time,” Strahm said. “You have to forget them as quick as you can … Winning fixes everything.”

In the first two games, the Phillies’ starters have allowed six hits and two runs in 12 innings while the relievers have allowed 13 hits and 10 runs in six innings. The pesky Mets lineup stayed in the pocket, refusing to fold in the first two games as it waited for a chance to rally in the late innings. The Phillies’ bullpen, through two games this postseason, has proved to be a liability. But its shortcomings were masked in Game 2 thanks to a win.

“The Mets right now, they’re putting some slug on the bullpen, so we have to take a look at that,” manager Rob Thomson said.

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Strahm will remain one of Thomson’s trusted late-inning arms. The Phillies, if they are going to accomplish what they set out for this season, will need Strahm to be back on track. He came to Philadelphia last season to experience October baseball and playing in front of 45,000 crazed fans. On Sunday, he had to settle for listening to the noise instead of being in the middle of it all. One more win and the Phillies will be back home again. And Strahm will get another chance.

“You feel it,” he said. “You feel the energy of 45,000 people behind you. It’s an electric place to play. No words can tell you. I can’t explain it. You have to feel it. You have to buy a ticket and come see it.”