Following the Phillies' strong 39-21 season, the Phils find themselves in the playoffs for the first time since 2011 in our Out Of The Park Baseball 21 simulation. Nine seasons later, the Phillies also have the chance to seek retribution against the team that delivered the finishing blow to their playoff hopes that year: the St. Louis Cardinals.
At 36-24, the Cardinals took the NL Central by storm to reclaim their title for a second consecutive year. The Cardinals possessed a mediocre offense in the 2020 simulation, but their pitching staff led the league in ERA, runs against, FIP, and Pitching WAR. Leading the staff is Jack Flaherty, who boasted a 2.30 ERA in a league-leading 82 innings pitched.
The Phillies come into the series finding themselves without Rhys Hoskins and Bryce Harper, who both suffered injuries on the same day back in September. J.T. Realmuto appears ready to take a majority of the starts at first base while Mike Zunino gets a wartime promotion to starting catcher in his stead. (In real life, Zunino signed with the Tampa Bay Rays, but not in this simulation!) Devily Grullon meanwhile was called up to act as backup catcher. In right field, Nick Williams will serve as Harper's replacement for the postseason.
While the Phillies' offense may have to manage without two critical pieces, the Phillies' pitching staff has received some unexpected reinforcements. David Robertson, who is recovering from Tommy John Surgery last August, is rejoining the team for the postseason. Manager Joe Girardi will have a hard decision to make whether to use Robertson or Hector Neris as the team's closer following Neris' 14-save season. In real life, Robertson is hopeful that he will return this season.
Additionally, Spencer Howard had a tremendous September call-up stretch with the Phillies before going on the IL with a sore elbow. Howard has been activated and is slated as the Phillies' third starter behind Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler. Jake Arrieta is listed as the team's fourth starter while Vince Velasquez joins the bullpen.
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NLDS Game 1
Aaron Nola faced off against Jack Flaherty in Game 1 of the best-of-five series. Brad "Bamboo Brad" Miller returned to Philadelphia for the first time following his stint with the team in 2019. He did not waste any time as he hit a two-run home run off of Nola in the top of the fourth to give the Cardinals an early lead.
Jean Segura didn't take long to respond for the Phillies, blasting a solo home run to lead off the bottom half of the inning. Two innings later, Segura reached base on a single before coming home on an Andrew McCutchen double to right field.
Aaron Nola pitched through the seventh inning for the Phillies, ending the day with two earned runs on four hits with two walks and eight strikeouts. The Phillies would not leave Nola with a 2-2 no-decision, however. Nick Williams slammed a two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh, scoring Realmuto and putting Nola on track for the win.
Following a 1-2-3 top of the eighth from Hector Neris, the Phillies added three insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth. After Segura scored on another McCutchen double, Didi Gregorius put the hammer down with a two-run home run.
With a 7-2 lead, Neris came in looking for the two-inning save. He loaded the bases with two walks and a single, and managed two outs before the bullpen phone rang in the dugout. With one out to go, David Robertson came in and pitched a four-pitch strikeout to earn the save.
NLDS Game 2
With a 1-0 lead in the series, the Phillies looked to Zack Wheeler to keep the momentum going against Carlos Martinez. Nick Maton played small-ball in the bottom of the first, getting on with a lead-off single. He stole second base before moving to third on a single from Segura. Carlos Martinez managed to limit the damage, forcing McCutchen into a double play. Maton scored on the play, giving the Phillies an early 1-0 lead.
In the top of the second, Wheeler got into a bases-loaded one-out jam. His pitch control was absent as he allowed runs to score on a four-pitch walk, an infield single, and a hit batter. He managed to force Matt Carpenter into a flyout to end the inning, but not before the Cardinals had a 3-1 lead. Paul Goldschmidt increased the Cardinals' lead with an RBI-single in the top of the fourth.
Carlos Martinez threw 4.1 innings while allowing only one run on five hits and four walks. The Phillies had their opportunities but could not cross the plate. It was not until the sixth inning that the Phillies scored another run off a Nick Williams solo home run. But that would be too little, too late as the Phillies dropped the game 4-2.
NLDS Game 3
The series moved to St. Louis for two as Spencer Howard made his postseason debut against seasoned veteran Adam Wainwright. The Phillies gave Howard all of the run support he needed quickly as Didi Gregorius hit a two-run home run, scoring McCutchen, at the top of the first.
Following the dinger from Didi, it became a pitcher's duel. Howard threw 4.2 innings of shutout baseball before the Phillies capped him at 95 pitches. Jose Alvarez and Vince Velasquez would pitch the Phillies into the eighth inning, before handing the ball off to Neris as the setup man. Neris allowed one hit in the eighth but tallied three strikeouts in the inning, setting up Robertson in the ninth. Robertson pitched an eight-pitch inning to record his second save of the season, giving the Phillies a 2-1 lead over St. Louis.
Continued on the page below.
Mandatory Credit: Butch Dill-USA TODAY Sports
NLDS Game 4
Jake Arrieta faced off against Miles Mikolas in a pitcher's duel in this elimination game. The Phillies' only success against Mikolas came in the top of the third as Scott Kingery hit a lead-off double. Nick Maton hit an RBI-single to score Kingery. Mike Zunino moved to third base on the play before being driven in on a Jean Segura sacrifice fly, giving the Phillies a 2-0 lead.
Arrieta threw 6.1 innings of scoreless baseball while allowing three hits and striking out eight. Velasquez came in to finish the seventh before the Phillies handed it off to Robertson.
With a 2-0 lead and only two innings to go before victory, Robertson began to struggle. Robertson let up a lead-off walk in the bottom of the eighth off Dylan Carlson. Carlson later scored off a Paul DeJong single to bring the Cardinals within one run of the Phillies.
Robertson fought his way out of the inning and prepared for the two-inning save in the ninth. After letting up a lead-off single to Dexter Fowler, however, Robertson was removed in exchange for Jose Alvarez. Alvarez let Yadier Molina get on via a single before getting two outs on a sacrifice bunt and a ground out to first base. With two outs and runners on second and third, the Phillies intentionally walked Paul Goldschmidt to get to Matt Carpenter. Carpenter made the Phillies pay by tying to game with an RBI walk, scoring Fowler.
With their playoff hopes at stake, Paul DeJong kept the Cardinals alive by smacking a walk-off single to score Molina. Alvarez took the loss and the blown save, while the Phillies packed up to return to Philadelphia for Game 5.
NLDS Game 5
In a Game 1 rematch, Nola faced off against Flaherty in a winner-takes-all showdown. The Cardinals struck first in the top of the second as Brad Miller hit his second two-run home run of the series off Nola, giving the Cardinals a 2-0 lead.
With the early lead, Flaherty came back out in the bottom of the second. He allowed a one-out single off Realmuto before having to stop. After a quick visit with the trainers, Flaherty was removed from the game due to back stiffness, forcing the Cardinals to the bullpen. Realmuto scored on a sacrifice fly from Kingery before John Brebbia got out of the inning for St. Louis.
Brebbia and Kwang-Hyun Kim pitched blow-for-blow with Nola as the game remained 2-1 into the fifth inning. After a lead-off walk from Roman Quinn, Segura and McCutchen hit back-to-back RBI doubles to give the Phillies a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the fifth.
Nola checked out after seven innings, having only allowed two runs on three hits while striking out 10 batters. Before Nola's line ended, however, he received additional help. The Phillies scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh, including a solo home run from Quinn.
Hector Neris struck out two while allowing one base runner in the top of the eighth, maintaining the Phillies' 5-2 lead. Didi Gregorius scored off a Nick Williams double in the bottom of the eighth. With a 6-2 lead, the Phillies had plenty of insurance as they were three outs away from a trip to the NLCS.
Neris struck out two but loaded the bases in the top of the ninth inning. With Dexter Fowler coming up to the plate, Girardi made an all-in choice, bringing in starter Zack Wheeler to go for the save. Wheeler, who has never been in a save situation in his career, fell behind 2-0 early to Fowler. Wheeler began to get Fowler's bat going, forcing three consecutive foul balls. With a 2-2 count, Wheeler struck out Fowler, earning his first career save and moving the Phillies on to the NLCS.
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Top Performers
Jean Segura had an amazing regular season and he continued his success into the postseason. With a .421 batting average and a 1.032 OPS, Segura led the team with eight hits and four runs scored in the series.
Aaron Nola pitched to his status as team ace. He pitched 14 innings while striking out 18 batters. Not only was he striking out batters, he was not allowing them to reach base with a WHIP of 0.79 with only four runs allowed.
A Look Around the League
In the American League, Mike Trout and the Los Angeles Angels fought their way through the Red Sox to earn their spot in the ALDS against the Houston Astros. The Angels and Astros fought to Game 5, but were blown out 11-0 as the Astros secured their spot in the ALCS.
Meanwhile, the Minnesota Twins shut down the New York Yankees' offense. Jose Berrios pitched a complete game shut out in Game 1 as the Twins swept the Yankees, outscoring them 20-2.
The Cincinnati Reds earned their way into the NLDS after beating the Braves 2-0. The Reds, led by resurgent 1B Joey Votto, took down the 42-18 Los Angeles Dodgers 3-1 to earn a ticket to the NLCS.
Up Next
The Phillies will host the Reds in their return to the NLCS for the first time since 2012. Having used Wheeler in Game 5 against the Cardinals, Spencer Howard will open the series for the Phillies as they face Luis Castillo. The 34-27 Reds fought their way into the playoffs in a tiebreaker game. Joey Votto's OPS was 1.200 as he leads the Reds with two home runs and four walks against the Dodgers' offense.
Trevor Bauer pitched two tremendous games against the Dodgers offense. He pitched 15 innings of one-run baseball while allowing only six hits. Bauer is slated to pitch Game 3 and Game 7 (if needed) for the Reds against Zack Wheeler.
Stay tuned tomorrow as the Phillies face off against the Reds as they seek to earn their first trip to the World Series since 2009.
Mandatory Credit: Butch Dill-USA TODAY Sports
