In a 1-2 count with two outs in a one-run game, the tying run in scoring position, José Alvarado gripped the baseball and fired his best weapon.
A cutter. Ninety-five mph, down and in. Mets slugger Pete Alonso swung, but had no chance at touching it as Alvarado slammed the door shut. Phillies radio commentator Larry Andersen wanted to know if the left-hander dialed up anything different on that last pitch. For Alvarado, it was business as usual.
“No, no,” he said in a postgame interview on SportsRadio 94WIP with Andersen and play-by-play man Scott Franzke. “It’s like, focus to hit the target.
“Like I said last year: Strike one and strike two and good luck.”
Alvarado appears as locked in as ever right now, the most recent evidence coming on Thursday night as he earned the save in a 5-4 Phillies victory against New York. He fired fastballs in the triple-digits, broke off some nasty cutters and displayed the perfect combination of composure and excitement.
When Alvarado is on, he and the Phillies have the confidence that his stuff can get the biggest outs in the biggest situations. He proved it down the stretch in 2022 and for most of Philadelphia’s surprise run to the World Series. He did it again early this year before two stints on the injured list got in the way.
But now, Alvarado looks like the top version of himself again, and it’s coming at the perfect time. The Phillies are looking to not only clinch a playoff berth, but secure the opportunity to host the three-game National League wild-card series at Citizens Bank Park. They’ll need Alvarado to be at his best to get where they want to go, and Philadelphia’s best reliever is starting to feel the intensity.
“I said, the other day in San Diego,” Alvarado said, “that game I closed them out, I feel like (it’s) a playoff game. Right now, every game is very important.”
Must-read (or watch) Phillies content
- Phillies Nation‘s own Destiny Lugardo did her first Phillies playoff roster projection.
- Matt Breen of The Philadelphia Inquirer has been writing a series of features on the members of the 2008 World Series-champion Phillies team and their lives after playing. Read his latest on reliever Tom Gordon.
- A new episode of the Phillies Nation Podcast was released on Thursday, previewing the potential wild-card matchups.
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