NEW YORK — A few hours before game time, Brandon Marsh took stock of the energy around the Phillies clubhouse. They were 0-and-4 to start the season, but he wasn’t too concerned.
“I don’t see any frowns,” Marsh said. He looked over at Matt Strahm, who was sitting across the room, preparing for his start against the Yankees later that night.
“We got Pastrami on the bump today,” Marsh said. “I’m ready to watch him compete. And play some better defense behind him. He’s the man. I’ll go to war with that dude any day.”
Strahm didn’t disappoint. In his first start since Aug. 17, 2021, when he threw just one inning as an opener for the Padres, the left-handed pitcher gave the Phillies four innings of one-hit, one-walk ball. In the bottom of the first, he struck out Gleyber Torres, and in the bottom of the fourth, he struck out Aaron Judge, both on his slider. After he struck out Judge, he let out a yell towards the Yankees dugout.
It was a cathartic moment. Strahm took the mound on Tuesday night with something to prove. The last time he was a starter, for an extended period of time, was when he was with San Diego in 2019. It did not go well. Strahm had a five-pitch arsenal at his disposal, but found himself over-thinking. He’d try to save certain pitches for later at-bats, and realized that he wasn’t throwing pitches the same way he did out of the bullpen.
“I wasn’t throwing with conviction,” Strahm said. “I personally think the right pitch is the one with the most conviction. It might not be the right pitch to that batter but in that moment but that’s where I feel strong. I’ll fight fire with fire everyday.”
Strahm ended that 2019 season with a 5.29 ERA through 16 starts. A few years later, the Phillies gave him the opportunity to give it another try. When starter Ranger Suárez was diagnosed with a left elbow strain in mid-March, it was Strahm who they turned to to fill Suárez’s spot. Strahm was excited, and rightfully so.
As a reliever, who had just three weeks to hastily build his workload up, Strahm was perhaps the last person the Phillies expected to give them four innings of scoreless ball. But on Tuesday night, in front of 35,392 raucous fans at Yankee Stadium, he showed he had learned something from that disappointing 2019 season. He wasn’t tentative. He wasn’t holding himself back. Instead, he pitched with conviction.
The bats heat up …
The Phillies cobbled together 10 hits on Tuesday night. Four of their nine hitters had multi-hit games: Jake Cave, Bryson Stott, Trea Turner, and Kyle Schwarber. Brandon Marsh hit his first home run of the season in the top of the third inning, a 436 foot shot to center field.
Both Turner and Schwarber hit two-out RBIs in the top of the fifth inning.
… And the bullpen locks it down
The Phillies pitching staff as a whole allowed only three hits and one run against a formidable Yankees lineup on Tuesday. The bullpen — Andrew Bellatti, Jose Alvarado, Connor Brogdon and Craig Kimbrel — allowed only two hits and one run.
Things got a little exciting in the bottom of the ninth. Kimbrel induced a flyout from Anthony Volpe, and allowed a home run to DJ LeMahieu in his next at-bat. From there, he allowed a walk, a flyout, and a single to put runners on first and second with two outs. But he induced a pop up to end the game.
Schwarber hits his 200th home run
Schwarber set the tone early on Tuesday night. In the top of the first inning, he hit a home run 415 feet to right center field to give the Phillies an early 1-0 lead. It was his first home run of the season, and the 200th home run of his career.
