NEW YORK — Cristopher Sánchez was supposed to throw a bullpen session on Wednesday. The Phillies will instead save his arm for later tonight, when he will be available out of the bullpen.
Expect Sánchez to be good for around 30-35 pitches, which is what Sánchez typically throws on his side session day.
Ranger Suárez will start a must-win Game 4 of the National League Division Series against the New York Mets at Citi Field, but it should be evident early on what version of the lefty pitcher the Phillies are getting. If he looks like his early season self, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the him face the Mets order more than one time through. If the command is rough early on, expect the big guns in the bullpen to get going early.
He threw two innings in a simulated game a week ago at Citizens Bank Park.
“And then you have to watch: Can he maintain it? The sim game was really good the other day, but it was two innings, so you got to just watch,” Rob Thomson said.
The rest of the bullpen is mostly available. Thomson said the Phillies will check in on Orion Kerkering, who has pitched in all three games of the series. José Alvarado is fine after taking a ball off the foot in Game 3.
Zack Wheeler, the starting pitcher for a potential Game 5, is only available in an emergency situation.
He will not sit in the bullpen to begin the game. He could go to the bullpen if that emergency arises.
Judging on how this series has gone, an emergency situation is likely to pop up. An elimination game is an emergency in and of itself.
The bullpen has allowed 12 earned runs in three games. Every single reliever that has pitched has either allowed a run, an unearned run or inherited runner to score.
For the Phillies to have a chance to win, the bullpen needs to get their mojo back.
On the bullpen’s confidence, Matt Strahm put it succinctly: “We’re nasty. So we’re good.”
On Thomson’s Game 3 Decisions
Here are some notes on Thomson’s bullpen decisions from Game 3:
- Why was Alvarado pitching in the eighth?: “I wanted to get Alvarado work. I felt like that was a pretty good spot for him. He was throwing the ball good until he got hit in the foot, like I said last night. He said that didn’t bother him, but who knows.”
- Why did he not have a reliever up to face Pete Alonso in the sixth with Aaron Nola on the mound?: “I felt like we had a chance to get a double play ball with Nola. And I liked the way he attacked. The first pitch he threw [Alonso], fastball up in the zone, he clipped him for a home run. But the next at-bat, I thought he really pitched well for them. I was confident there. But if he had gotten Alonso, we had the opportunity to go after [José] Iglesias with Nola. Then you’ve got Strahm for [Jesse] Winker, who is going to end up being [J.D.] Martinez, which is not a bad matchup for us. But once you walk Alonso, we had to go get him.”
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