Rise and Phight: 10/8/2023

Man, I’m still having trouble getting over that win. Rob Thomson was brilliant, the pitching he used was excellent and now the Phillies have a chance to head back to Philadelphia up 2-0 in the series.

The gameplan that they used against Spencer Strider - swing at the first hittable fastball you see, steal like crazy - is likely going to be used by the Braves against Wheeler, so it’s the hope he has his good sweeper, but for now, let’s just relish in the game one win. It was big.

On to the links.

Phillies news:

• Rob Thomson used a little bit of psychology in his game one masterclass of managing. He’s awesome.
• There was a meeting pregame on Saturday that had to do with creating the bullpen plan for the game. Then they had to talk to J.T. Realmuto.
• It was a little hairy, but Seranthony Dominguez got some big outs for the Phillies yesterday.

MLB news:

• In case you didn’t stay up, playoff Clayton Kershaw came roaring back to life last night in Los Angeles.
• Stop giving Yordan Alvarez hittable pitches in the playoffs. He’s going to destroy you.
• Oh Gunnar. A “miscommunication” led to the Orioles losing game one of their series with Texas.