He shook his head as Teoscar Hernández rounded the bases in the seventh inning on Saturday night at Citizens Bank Park. A few minutes later, he shouted into his glove.
Strahm nearly cleaned up a nasty mess in the Phillies’ 5-3 loss to the Dodgers in Game 1 of the NL Division Series. David Robertson had put the first two batters on base in the seventh, but Strahm struck out Shohei Ohtani looking on a fastball and got Mookie Betts to pop out on the infield.
If he could just get Hernández.
Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto set up inside for a 1-0 fastball. Strahm threw the pitch on the outer half. Hernández barreled it. He sent the pitch to right-center field for a stunning three-run home run to give the Dodgers a two-run lead. It looked for a moment like Phillies center fielder Harrison Bader might settle underneath the ball, but it kept carrying before finally falling in the stands.
Hernández’s heroics put the Phillies in a 1-0 hole in the best-of-five series.
It was a crushing blow for the Phillies, who have World Series-or-bust expectations. Their urgency showed in the late innings. Edmundo Sosa pinch-hit for Brandon Marsh with the bases loaded and two outs in the eighth. The Phillies had already lost Bader to groin tightness, leaving Max Kepler to move to center field for the ninth.
But the Phillies had to take their shot against Dodgers left-hander Alex Vesia. They needed to win this game.
Sosa flied out to center to end the inning.
