Zack Wheeler was brilliant for the Phillies in Friday's Wild Card Series opener, handing the ball over to Rob Thomson and the Philadelphia bullpen after 6.1 shutout innings, allowing just two hits and matching zeroes with Jose Quintana.
But, as it often has in recent years, things quickly unraveled once the Phillies relievers got involved.
Jose Alvarado took the ball from Thomson and served up a pinch-hit, go-ahead two-run home run to Juan Yepez just three batters later, putting Philly behind 2-0 on the first go-ahead pinch-hit home run in the rich playoff history of the Cardinals franchise.
After showing signs of hope down the stretch of the regular season (particularly Alvarado, who pitched to a 0.43 ERA since Aug. 1), the Phillies bullpen seemed to return to its regularly scheduled programming, and MLB Twitter was ready for it.