Twelve years ago, we got to witness one of the best postseason starts in history when we saw Roy Halladay pitch a no-hitter for the Phillies against the Reds.

Tuesday night, we saw another one.

Zack Wheeler threw seven innings. He allowed one hit. He had one walk. He had eight strikeouts. He threw just 83 pitches. It was as dominant performance as he’s had all season.

And it resulted in a 2-0 Phillies victory in Game 1 of the NLCS.

Padres manager Bob Melvin called it one of the best pitching performances his team has faced all season.


Statistics said it was one of the best pitching performances in major league baseball history:

The Padres couldn’t touch him. Fans were nearly apoplectic that Manager Rob Thomson would pull him after just 83 pitches, but Wheeler said his velocity was starting to dip in the seventh inning, which meant it was probably the right time to come out of the game.

Especially when the Phillies had fireballers like Seranthony Dominguez and Jose Alvarado ready to go behind him.

Dominguez pitched a dominant eighth inning. Alvarado had a hairy ninth inning because he walked Jurickson Profar with one out, setting up the Padres’ meat of the order – Juan Soto, Manny Machado and Josh Bell – with a chance to tie or win the game.

Alvarado got Soto to hit a sharp ground ball to Alec Bohm that should have been a game-ending double play, but turned into a throwing error by Bohm.

With runners at first and second, it could have turned sour, but Thomson went out to the mound, calmed everyone down, and allowed Alvarado a chance to breathe. He then got Machado to pop out and struck out Bell to end the game:

The pitching was sensational. The Phillies starting pitching ERA this postseason is 1.17. Dominguez and Alvarado are as good as any relievers in baseball at the moment. There’s no doubt pitching will be at the forefront of every conversation in every game the rest of the way, but the Phillies had to score somehow, someway to win the game, right?

How did that happen? Well, the two guys Bob and I predicted would win the NLCS MVP award laid down the gauntlet.

BRYCE (my MVP)

Look, Yu Darvish pitched really well for the Padres. Let’s not lose sight of this. The Phillies had all of three hits in this game. But, two of them were the key, and Harper started it all off with this at bat that broke a scoreless tie in the fourth inning:

Harper is now hitting .407 through seven postseason games. He has a homer in three straight postseason games. If ever there was a sign of a superstar embracing the moment, Harper this postseason is doing it and doing so loudly.

Except, that there was one swing louder than Harper’s Tuesday. Hell, it was louder than any player’s playoff swing in the history of Stat Cast.

SCHWARBS (Bob’s MVP)

Kyle Schwarber did something that was epic.. He hit a home run longer, further and harder than anyone ever in the playoffs:

The home run was 488 feet. The longest ever hit at Petco Park. The furthest ever hit in Schwarber’s career. It left the bat at 119.7 MPH, the hardest hit ball in the playoffs since tracking of exit velocity has been tracked.

It was epic. The most epic Phillies NLCS home run since Matt Stairs also ripped one into the night in Southern California.

In fact….

Yeah. Every game is more magical than the last. And the Phillies are one more win closer to an improbable and unbelievable accomplishment:

Play the song!