Moments after his Phillies worked an improbable comeback to tie game one of the World Series in the top of the fifth, manager Rob Thomson pressed harder on the gas pedal, hoping to send Philadelphia speeding towards a crucial road victory.
Thomson, who became a manager for the first time in his career after Joe Girardi was fired midseason, called on Jose Alvarado in relief of Aaron Nola, wasting no time in getting his struggling game one starter out of the game in favor of a fresh arm.
Alvarado, a lefty, was called on with one out in the fifth to face Houston’s lefty slugger Yordan Alvarez, and to be on the mound two batters later against lefty Kyle Tucker, who had taken Nola deep twice earlier in the game.
Alvarado retired Tucker to start the sixth inning, and Thomson came back out to bring in Zach Eflin, who recorded the first save of the Phillies’ postseason back in a clinching game two of the Wild Card Series. When the Astros’ dangerous lefties came up again later in the game, Thomson turned to southpaw Ranger Suarez, projected to start game three for the Phils back home.
It was game one of the Fall Classic, and Thomson treated it like a game seven, where there was no tomorrow. The result was a huge win, changing the outlook for the whole series, and leading to a lot of justifiable praise towards Thomson.
It was the kind of managerial performance the Yankees could have used in game one of their eventual last playoff series of the year.
First, let’s get the big, glaring difference out of the way. The Phillies finished the Padres in five games in the NLCS and earned four days off before the Fall Classic opener, while the Yanks, because of a rainout, had to open the ALCS in Houston less than 24 hours after closing out the Guardians in a decisive game five of the ALDS.
Still, Thomson’s sense of urgency should remind Yankee fans of what Aaron Boone failed to do in Houston.
In game one, Boone got more than enough from starter Jameson Taillon, who left with the score tied at one apiece in the fifth inning. But Boone called on Clarke Schmidt, who needed an inning-ending double play to escape trouble before being called upon to go back out for the sixth.
Two home runs later, Boone called upon Lou Trivino, a reliever much higher on the bullpen totem pole, to end the inning. But Boone then went to Frankie Montas to start the seventh, and he promptly served up a home run to put the game away.
Yes, Wandy Peralta had been used for the fifth straight game the night before, and Jonathan Loasiga has been used for 25 pitches in that game as well.
But using Trivino for just seven pitches, not trying to get outs from the ever-improving Clay Holmes, or even seeing what they could get out of the red-hot Peralta was a puzzling choice from Boone, who many felt was letting game one slip away with an eye on the rest of a potentially long series.
Instead, the Yanks were swept, allowing Houston to advance before losing in improbable fashion to a manager much more focused on winning the game in front of him.
Sure, Nick Castellanos could have come up short on his sliding catch in the bottom of the ninth and the Astros could have won anyway. But they didn’t, and Thomson was managing how and aggressive leader should in a tie game on the road in the postseason: use your best to maximize your chance of keeping the game tied and giving your offense a chance to steal a pivotal game.
Boone did not go that route, and never got a chance to recover.
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
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