Phillies’ Harper and Schwarber in postseason slump as team faces elimination against Dodgers

LOS ANGELES — Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber are mired in the same kind of postseason slump that wrecked the Los Angeles Dodgers two years ago.

Back then, Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts were a combined 1 for 21 as the Dodgers were swept by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2023 NL Division Series. Their lone hit was an infield single by Freeman.

Harper and Schwarber are 1 for 15 with eight strikeouts, putting the Philadelphia Phillies on the brink of elimination. They trail 2-0 in the best-of-five NLDS with Game 3 on Wednesday at Dodger Stadium.

“I think the postseason you’ve got to flush as quick as possible because any at-bat can change the course of a game or change the course of a series,” Harper said Tuesday.

Betts remembers the frustration he felt knowing how much the Dodgers were counting on him and Freeman, but nothing they tried made a difference.

“When you get in that rut and it seems like it’s quicksand, it’s tough,” Betts said. “Hell, I didn’t get out of it, so I have no advice or anything. Good luck to those guys and we’ll see if they have the answer.”

Only two teams have ever come back from a 2-0 deficit in the NLDS.

Phillies manager Rob Thomson was bench coach for the New York Yankees in 2017, when they rallied from a 2-0 deficit against the Cleveland Guardians in the ALDS to win and advance to the AL Championship Series.

“You’ve got to slow things down — one inning at a time, really, and come out and relax and be yourselves,” Thomson said. “Don’t try to do too much.”

Betts is not discounting the Phillies.

“They got on the plane with full intentions of going back for a Game 5,” he said. “We’ve got to be able to withstand the punches that they’re going to throw and be able to throw some back.”

Wheel play

The Dodgers successfully executed a defensive wheel play in the bottom of the ninth Monday.

With Nick Castellanos on second, third baseman Max Muncy rushed home plate to field a bunt by Bryson Stott, turned and perfectly threw to shortstop Betts, who was covering third. Betts got the out while being upended by a sliding Castellanos.

“It’s such a basic play,” Betts said. “It would be like the Lakers. They won the NBA championship running the 2-3 zone. That’s how I view it. It’s just we ran it in a big spot and we were able to do it right. We executed it really perfectly myself, just the timing of it.”

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts wasn’t surprised at Betts’ execution of the play named for the wheel-like rotation of the infielders.

“I think that especially as an outfielder for the most part of his career to then come into the infield, he’s got a lot of feel,” the manager said. “He’s got a lot of belief in his ability. He made a great play, a really, really great play.”

Even Thomson had to concede the Dodgers’ aggression paid off.

“Mookie Betts did a heck of a job by breaking very late so the hitter can’t adjust to the slash,” he said. “It’s tough for Nick to get a proper secondary or bigger secondary because Betts is sitting right behind him. It was a good play.”

Injury updates

Phillies center fielder Harrison Bader will be a game-time decision Wednesday.

He left Game 1 early with a groin injury and came off the bench in Game 2 to deliver a pinch-hit single during the Phillies’ ninth-inning rally.

“He said he feels a little bit better today,” Thomson said.

Dodgers catcher Will Smith also is a game-time decision, although Roberts said he feels “more confident” that Smith will be able to start. Smith came off the bench Monday and hit a crucial two-run single in the seventh. He’s been nursing a hand injury since last month.

Dodgers backup shortstop Miguel Rojas left Game 2 with hamstring tightness, aggravating an injury that had been bothering him recently. He won’t be in the lineup Wednesday.