Phils burn basepaths with franchise-record 5 steals in G1

ATLANTA -- The Phillies might be best known for their power, but their wheels got things started in Saturday night’s 3-0 victory over the Braves in Game 1 of the National League Division Series at Truist Park.

Philadelphia ran wild with a postseason franchise record five stolen bases, the most by a Major League club in a nine-inning game in the playoffs since the Angels in Game 2 of the 2007 American League Division Series against the Red Sox.

“We can do a lot of different things to score runs, and we've done it all year, where we've scored by using our speed and some small ball,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “We've also won games by slugging. And Atlanta can do the same thing. Trust me. So it's a good combination to have.”

Just the threat of running scratched across the game’s first run in the fourth.

With Bryce Harper at first base and Bryson Stott at the plate with two outs, Harper took off, but Stott fouled the pitch off to keep the count at 0-2. Despite the situation, Strider sailed an errant pickoff throw into the stands that advanced Harper into scoring position. Stott wasted no time taking advantage of the opportunity, lacing an RBI single to left on the next pitch.

It was a rare miscue from Strider, who has never committed a regular-season error but has now done so in consecutive NLDS appearances against the Phillies.

“It's actually something that I had been working on this week, was just trying to improve my pickoff move, do something that maybe [would] give me a chance to limit the running game,” Strider said. “It’s not something that I'd had a ton of success doing in the past -- picking off -- but he ran the pitch before, and I didn't want to give him a good jump. Unfortunately, I threw it away and he got there anyways. So it's such a minute thing, picking off. But of course, when you screw it up, it can become such a big deal. So that obviously led to the first run, and that was all they needed.”

During the regular season, the Phillies stole the seventh-most bases in MLB (141). The Braves permitted the eighth-most steals. Strider tied for the 14th-most steals (19) allowed among Major League pitchers. Opponents were caught just twice on his watch.

There’s only so much Sean Murphy, the 2021 AL Gold Glove Award-winning catcher, can do behind the dish. He threw out 22 percent of potential basestealers in ‘23 -- slightly above the 19 percent league average. In fact, Murphy caught fellow backstop J.T. Realmuto with an 85.8 mph throw and a 1.92-second pop time in the second inning.

"Most velocity guys, power pitchers, are a little slower to the plate,” Phillies shortstop Trea Turner said of Strider. “We knew that. But we know Murphy's a really good catch-and-throw guy, as well. You take your chances, you try to pick your spots, but you've still got to be pretty good. You can't just run at free will over there, because J.T. got thrown out. That's baseball. You take your chances, and you hope they pay off."

That kind of pressure helped Philadelphia add an insurance run in the eighth inning on just one hit. Following a leadoff single by Turner against lefty A.J. Minter, he nabbed a pair of bases. Harper walked, then stole second on righty Pierce Johnson. Stott would load the bases with a walk before a run-scoring catcher’s interference was called on Murphy.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Turner’s 40 consecutive steals without being caught, including in the postseason, is tied with Jimmy Rollins (2007-08) for the third most since 1951, trailing only the Cardinals' Vince Coleman (50 in 1988-89) and the Mariners' Ichiro Suzuki (45 in 2006-07).

“Guys that are fast -- you're not going to stop them from stealing,” Minter said. “It's more of just mixing up your looks and trying to hold them closer to the bags. So when those guys are going to steal -- the new rules this year, and we know basestealing has gone up and stuff for a reason -- just do a better job of just mixing up our looks and trying to get them off guard.”

The Braves will need to find ways to contain the Phillies on the basepaths moving forward, and there’s no better pitcher up to the task than Game 2 starter Max Fried. The three-time Gold Glove Award winner allowed just four steals in six attempts in 2023.

“We'll have to do a better job than we did, that's for sure,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “We knew that coming in that they're aggressive. It's one of those things. Murph made a couple of really good throws. Overall, they're very opportunistic, and they got a lot of guys with a lot of success in stealing bases, too. We're going to have to do a better job holding the ball and things like that.”