Phillies manager Rob Thomson shares blame for Game 3 loss
Most will be quick to blame the Philadelphia Phillies bats for losing Thursday's Game 3 of the National League Championship Series at the Arizona Diamondbacks, and deservedly so. The vaunted offense combined for just three hits with no RBI. The only run Philadelphia scored came on a wild pitch.
However, Philadelphia manager Rob Thomson has to take a portion of the blame for mismanagement of his pitchers.
The trouble began when Thomson pulled starting pitcher Ranger Suarez in the sixth inning. Suarez had only thrown 69 pitches and had struck out seven in a three-hit shutout.
At first, Thomson could be given the benefit of the doubt. He yanked Suarez after only 53 pitches in Game 1 of the National League Division Series in Atlanta, and the gamble paid off, with the Phillies winning 3-0. It looked as though Philadelphia would get out of another jam on Thursday with reliever Jeff Hoffman quickly closing out the sixth inning.
Instead, an inexplicable decision was made to bring in rookie Orion Kerkering in the seventh inning with the Phillies having just taken a 1-0 lead. Kerkering's major league debut came less than a month ago. He pitched just three regular-season games, and three of his four playoff appearances came with Philadelphia holding a comfortable lead.
In Game 1 of the NLDS, he pitched a one-two-three seventh inning with the Phillies clinging to a 2-0 advantage. That was what Thomson had in mind when he brought in the 22-year-old rookie on Thursday, but Kerkering surrendered three hits without recording an out. One of those hits was a double by Lourdes Gurriel Jr. that tied the game.
After Jose Alvarado preserved the tie over the seventh and eighth innings, closer Craig Kimbrel imploded in the ninth, loading the bases and surrendering a walk-off single to Ketel Marte that won Game 3 for Arizona.
After the game, the Phillies' skipper defended his decision to bring in Kerkering by saying, "He's pitched pretty well for us...That moment's not too big for him."
In fairness to the rookie, he's shown signs of promise in his limited appearances. Unfortunately, this moment was too big for him. As a result, the Diamondbacks have gained momentum.
Friday's Game 4 will be a bullpen game for both teams with the Phillies sending left-hander Cristopher Sanchez to the mound against fellow southpaw Joe Mantiply. If Sanchez gets out to a hot start, perhaps it would be behoove Thomson to use a longer leash than he's used on Suarez.
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