Categories: 2024 Postgame Recaps

Matt Strahm strikes out NL All-Star teammate Shohei Ohtani as Phillies win 60th game

Matt Strahm recorded a couple crucial outs Wednesday. (Don Otto/Phillies Nation)

Final Score: Phillies 4, Dodgers 3

In less than a week, Philadelphia Phillies reliever Matt Strahm and Los Angeles Dodgers DH Shohei Ohtani will be teammates on the National League All-Star team. They’ll have something fun to talk about in the clubhouse before the game, as Strahm helped lead the Phillies to their 60th win by striking out Ohtani in a crucial situation Wednesday.

Strahm inherited a dicey situation in the top of the seventh inning, with runners on the corners, one out and Ohtani, the two-time American League MVP, coming to the plate. The Phillies were holding onto a two-run lead, one that with one swing Ohtani could have made a distant memory.

Instead, Strahm nearly struck Ohtani out on three pitches. However, Ohtani wisely took the third pitch of the at-bat, a 94-mph four-seam fastball just off the plate. No problem, Strahm came back on the next pitch and got Ohtani to chase a slider in the dirt, partially knocking his own helmet off as he struck out.

Did it feel any different coming into that moment facing Ohtani, as opposed to, well, anyone else?

“Any time you’re pitching here in the Bank, the atmosphere is unbelievable,” Strahm said after the game. “You obviously are aware of who is in the box, but again, the energy of these fans is just unmatched.”

Even after getting Ohtani, Strahm had to maintain his focus with Teoscar Hernández — also set to be his NL All-Star teammate next week — coming to the plate. He was able to get Hernández to fly out to right field, ending the threat, and causing everyone in Citizens Bank Park, including Strahm, to erupt.

“You saw it all [emotion] come out after Hernández,” Strahm said. “You know the situation, you know your job. I’m in here to get two outs. Yeah, it’s Ohtani for the first one, but I gotta make sure I get that second one. The second one is the most important.”

Still, it’s hard not to look back at Strahm striking out Ohtani as the defining moment of the game. As Strahm said in his postgame media session, Ohtani is “one of the greatest to ever pick up a bat.” And Strahm sent him and his bat back to the visitor’s dugout in relatively short order Wednesday.

It was the type of moment that can sometimes be overlooked in a regular-season game, but would be viewed as iconic if it came in the playoffs. Well, if the Phillies and Dodgers do meet in October, there will almost certainly be at least one high-leverage matchup between Ohtani and Strahm. And even if Ohtani has done enough by that point to win his third-career MVP Award, he’ll enter that matchup knowing Strahm previously got the best of him.

Highlights

Kyle Schwarber led off with an opposite-field home run against Los Angeles starter Gavin Stone. Not only was it the 600th career RBI of his career, but Schwarber now has 39 career leadoff home runs, 26 of which have come since joining the Phillies:

The Phillies extended their lead in the bottom of the second inning on a swinging bunt by Whit Merrifield that plated Brandon Marsh.

Bryson Stott made a tremendous diving stop on a grounder by Miguel Rojas with runners on first and third base and one out in the top of the fourth inning. But while he fired to Trea Turner at second base for the second out of the inning, there wasn’t enough time to turn the inning-ending double play. Hernández scored the first run of the evening for the Dodgers.

Ohtani singled off of Cristopher Sánchez for the second time of the game in the top of the fifth inning, bringing home the tying run in the form of Kiké Hernández:

Whit Merrifield led off the bottom of the fifth with what appeared to be a can of corn for center fielder Andy Pages. However, the rookie lost the ball in the lights, allowing it to drop and Merrifield to reach third. With two outs, Turner grounded a ball to the left of Rojas at shortstop, which he wasn’t able to come up with, allowing Merrifield to score.

Later in the inning, Stott beat out a slowly hit grounder to second, allowing Turner to score, giving the Phillies a 4-2 lead:

As noted above, Strahm kept Ohtani and the Dodgers off the board by recording the second and third outs of the frame. Rojas did single in a run for the Dodgers in the top of the eighth inning off of José Alvarado, but Jeff Hoffman came in and recorded the save in the ninth to secure the one-run victory for the Phillies. Hoffman got Will Smith to fly out to deep right field to end the game, leaving Ohtani standing in the on-deck circle.

Injury Notes

Bryce Harper was out of the lineup Wednesday after bruising his hand in the field Tuesday. The eight-time All-Star tried to swing in the cages Wednesday afternoon, but didn’t end up in the lineup. Thomson said postgame that the swelling is down, but the bruising is still there. Harper wasn’t available as a pinch hitter this evening, and they’ll see how he feels tomorrow before making a decision on whether he’ll be in the lineup.

An MRI on Zack Wheeler’s lower left back showed no structural damage, but it’s unclear if the Phillies’ ace will make his final scheduled start before the All-Star Break on Sunday against the Oakland Athletics.