The Philadelphia Phillies lost Game 1 of the National League Wild Card Series 5-3 to the Atlanta Braves.
After taking a 3-2 lead in the top of the seventh inning, Don Mattingly decided to go to his closer, Jhoan Duran, early. Duran got through the seventh inning with ease, but was surprisingly back out on the mound for the eighth inning. Duran gave up a two-out, three-run home run to Austin Riley, taking the loss on Tuesday.
Duran had only gone more than one inning one time all season, so to see him go back out for the eighth inning was a shock.
"We talked about it before the game: if we were at the top, we were getting to the top, go seventh, eighth (innings)," Mattingly said after the game.
The Braves had the No. 9, No. 1 and No. 2 hitters due up to start the seventh, so it seems like going to him early was not a spur-of-the-moment decision. Mattingly wanted his best reliever on the mound for the top of the Braves' order.
He got through the seventh inning on just 12 pitches, and Mattingly said he felt fine, so he sent him back out there for the eighth. He got the first two outs of the eighth inning on just three pitches. However, a weakly hit ground-ball single and a hit-by-pitch brought Austin Riley up with two on and two out.
Obviously Duran had up the homer, but Mattingly noted that had Duran gotten out of that inning clean, he would have considered sending him out for a third inning, trying to end the game. Duran's usage on Tuesday is an indication of the state of the Phillies bullpen as they now try to battle back from a 1-0 deficit.