The Phillies’ bullpen was seen as a potential Achilles heel heading into the postseason, with recent improvements not nearly enough to remove fear and trauma from fans who watched the Philly bullpen implode time and again in recent years.
But Rob Thomson has pushed the right buttons, and the Phillies relief arms have stepped up when needed, with David Robertson being the latest to come in and lock down a playoff save.
Robertson shut the door in the bottom of the 10th in game one, stranding the tying and winning runs in scoring position, to help the Phillies draw first blood in the Fall Classic, while also helping the team tie an MLB postseason record.
Per Andrew Simon of MLB.com, Robertson is the fifth Phillies pitcher to record a save this postseason, tying the 2020 Dodgers as the only teams to ever have that many different pitchers log a save in one playoff run.
That Dodgers team went on to win the World Series.
Zach Eflin logged the first save for Philly, locking down a 2-0 win to clinch a Wild Card Series win over the Cardinals in St. Louis. Jose Alvarado was next, saving game one of the NLCS, while Seranthony Dominguez was on the mound for the final out of a big game three win of that series. In an unforgettable game five, Ranger Suarez earned the save to seal the Phillies’ first National League pennant since 2009 after Bryce Harper’s iconic go-ahead home run in the eighth.
Incredibly, none of those five pitchers led the team in saves during the regular season. That was Corey Knebel, who tore his shoulder capsule back in August, ending his season.