Phillies’ Harper, Schwarber down in postseason as team faces elimination against Dodgers

LOS ANGELES– Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber are mired in the same kind of postseason slump that destroyed the Los Angeles Dodgers two years ago.

At the time, Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts were a combined 1 for 21 as the Dodgers were swept by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2023 NL Division Series. Their only hit was an infield single by Freeman.

Harper and Schwarber are 1 for 15 with eight strikeouts, putting the Philadelphia Phillies on the brink of elimination. They trail 2-0 in the best-of-five NLDS with Game 3 Wednesday at Dodger Stadium.

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“I think in the postseason you have to flush as quickly as possible because any one at-bat can change the course of a game or change the course of a series,” Harper said Tuesday.

Betts remembers the frustration he felt knowing how much the Dodgers were counting on him and Freeman, but nothing they tried made a difference.

“When you get in that rut and it feels like it’s quicksand, it’s hard,” Betts said. “Damn, I didn’t get through it, so I don’t have any advice or anything. Good luck to these guys and we’ll see if they have the answer.”

Only two teams have come back from a 2-0 deficit in the NLDS.

Phillies manager Rob Thomson was bench coach of the New York Yankees in 2017, when they recovered from a 2-0 deficit against the Cleveland Guardians in the ALDS to win and advance to the AL Championship Series.

“You have to slow things down – one inning at a time, really, and go out and relax and be yourself,” Thomson said. “Don’t try to do too much.”

Betts isn’t discounting the Phillies.

“They got on the plane with every intention of coming back for a fifth game,” he said. “We have to be able to withstand the punches they’re going to throw and be able to return them.”

Wheel set

The Dodgers successfully executed a defensive wheel play in the bottom of the ninth on Monday.

With Nick Castellanos at second, third baseman Max Muncy rushed to the plate to field a Bryson Stott bunt, turned and threw perfectly to shortstop Betts, who was covering third. Betts retreated while being knocked down by a sliding Castellanos.

“It’s such a basic game,” Betts said. “It would be like the Lakers. They won the NBA championship in the 2-3 zone. That’s how I look at it. It’s just we ran it in a big spot and we were able to do it well. We executed it really perfectly myself, just the timing.”

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was not surprised by Betts’ execution of the named play because of the wheel-like rotation of the infielders.

“I think, especially as an outfielder for most of his career, to then get on the field, he has a lot of feel,” the manager said. “He believes a lot in his abilities. He made an excellent game, a very, very good game.”

Even Thomson had to admit that the Dodgers’ aggressiveness paid off.

“Mookie Betts did a heck of a job breaking really late so the hitter couldn’t adjust to the slash,” he said. “It’s hard for Nick to get a good secondary or a bigger secondary because Betts is sitting right behind him. It was a good play.”

Injury Updates

Phillies center fielder Harrison Bader will be a game-time decision Wednesday.

He left Game 1 early with a groin injury and came off the bench in Game 2 to deliver a walk-off single during the Phillies’ ninth-inning rally.

“He said he felt a little better today,” Thomson said.

Dodgers catcher Will Smith is also a game-time decision, although Roberts said he feels “more confident” that Smith will be able to start. Smith came off the bench Monday and hit a crucial two-run single in the seventh. He has been nursing a hand injury for the past month.

Dodgers backup shortstop Miguel Rojas left Game 2 with a hamstring strain, aggravating an injury that had been bothering him recently. He will not be there on Wednesday.