PHILADELPHIA — The Phillies like to use the phrase “flush it.” After a tough loss — like their 3-2 defeat against the Astros in Game 5 of the World Series on Thursday — it is often what they say they’ll do, and more times than not they actually do it. At the beginning of the season, they struggled with this. They’d rattle off three, four, five losses at a time. By May 31, they were 21-29 and 12.5 games back in the National League East.
Jean Segura was placed on the injured list the next day, with a right index finger fracture. In retrospect, Kyle Gibson called it “rock bottom.”
“We were in a tough spot,” Gibson said. “I also think the whole situation with Joe [Girardi] kind of had everybody holding their breath. When is it going to happen? What is going to happen? You can’t ignore those rumors, right. You’re trying to play a game. You’re trying to not worry about it. But we’re all humans. I think that was part of it.
“So you take a deep breath and say ‘OK, it’s time to approach this a little bit different.’ Because what we had done just wasn’t working.”
In the five months since Girardi was fired as manager, the Phillies have learned how to “flush it.” This has been even more true in the playoffs. In the NL Division Series against the Braves, they won Game 1 in Atlanta, lost Game 2 after recording three hits and no runs, and came back to win their next two games at home. In the National League Championship Series, they won Game 1 in San Diego, lost Game 2, and won their next three games at home.
In Game 2 of the World Series, after Zack Wheeler uncharacteristically gave up four earned runs in five innings, the Phillies came back the next day and hit five home runs in a 7-0 win over the Astros.
They’ve even done it in games. A defensive miscue, a few shutout innings, or a poor pitching performance hasn’t fazed them. The dugout is always engaged — and vocal — with Nick Maton and Garrett Stubbs pacing back and forth, making noise, whether it’s barks, howls, yells, or something entirely different.
This wasn’t something that developed overnight. Players will tell you that manager Rob Thomson’s calm demeanor has a lot to do with it; he doesn’t panic, so his players don’t either. Gibson believes the younger players have also helped. Because they know that they’ll be in the lineup, they play with nothing to lose, and bring that energy on the field and in the clubhouse.
But aside from that, open communication — talking about a loss, why it happened, and how to move forward — has made a difference.
“We sit and talk about the game [after a loss],” said first baseman Rhys Hoskins. “I think that tends to help. From a baseball standpoint, what could have been done, what we were thinking. It kind of allows you to talk about it, move on, and on to the next.”
“It’s just making sure that before you leave, you’re ready to move on for the next day,” Gibson said. “I think each time that we’ve started these series, we’ve split on the road. And I think in all of those games, except Houston, we had a chance to win. That can cause you to stub your toe a little bit and lag as you get home.
“But we made sure that before we leave that city, we were talking to each other and saying, ‘Hey, a split on the road to start a series is a good start.’ It’s easy to forget that. And I think all the times we’ve won the first game and lost the second, we’ve made sure to stay focused.”
The Phillies now face their greatest test on Saturday night: their first elimination game of the postseason, in Houston. If they win, they force a Game 7 on Sunday. They don’t have a home-field advantage to look forward to. But they believe they have a proven track record of “flushing it” and plan to carry that mentality with them to Texas.
“Gotta win Saturday,” Hoskins said. “That’s it. We have to win.”
