PHILADELPHIA — The Padres coveted Josh HaderThey have been doing this for many years. They finally got him on Aug. 1. They made another seismic trade the next day that cemented their visions for Hader, the rarest of closers, and got the ball in October with everything still in play.
Hader was a Citizens Bank Park teammate in the eighth inning of Sunday’s eighth-inning game. Robert Suarez, facing the hottest of hitters, sought to protect a one-run lead and prolong San Diego’s playoff run. The defining sequence of an abrupt end would be what happened next.
Suarez threw a 2-2, 99 mph sinker above the outer half. From the left-handed batter’s box, Bryce HarperThe crowd erupted in a powerful, compact swing. A go-ahead home run was made into a torrent of rain-soaked fans. A ballpark erupted. It was surrounded by a city. A few minutes later, the home fans were again celebrating deliriously. Phillies Game 3 starter Ranger SuárezThe National League Championship Series’ decisive fifth match was completed.
Bryce Harper.
The Phillies signed him to that huge deal for swings similar to this.
🎥 @MLBONFOX | @Phillies pic.twitter.com/eQV8Ikm80e
— The Athletic MLB (@TheAthleticMLB) October 23, 2022
Hader, the Padres acquired to dominate moments such as Sunday’s eighth inning, never took the mound — the real mound — in three consecutive games in Philadelphia.
“I didn’t even think about that,” catcher Austin NolaHe said it after it was pointed out to his attention. The Phillies lost 4-3San Diego fell three wins short of reaching the World Series. “It sucks. I don’t know what to say on that one. I really don’t have an answer.”
Nola chuckled. Maybe there wasn’t much more to say. He did say more.
“Rob has been one of the best pitchers in the league,” Nola added. “I wanted that matchup. It was what he wanted. These matchups are what you want. These situations are what you should want. We’re going to get stronger from that situation. That thing’s going to change us. It’s going to change us. We’re going to be better for that.”
It was a theme in the wake of a devastating defeat. Players suggested that the Padres would be more successful because of this. It was not just that their season suddenly and agonizingly ended. It was all of that. Even the party with the strongest case of aggrievement offered a wider perspective.
“In hindsight, it’s easy to put all that on the decision, but we got our best guy on the mound,” Hader said. “We’ve counted on him a number of times, day in and day out throughout the whole year. So you trust in Suarez and you trust in what he’s done for us the entire season. And I don’t think at all you fault that. I mean, like I said, it’s easy in hindsight to say, ‘Yeah, maybe you should’ve.’ But he’s a dog, man. He’s been there for us the entire year.”
The 2022 Padres are the most dramatic story arc ever. The Padres learned their franchise shortstop just before they began spring training. Fernando Tatis Jr.A broken wrist would cause him to miss several months. Opening Day saw them throw Suarez into a save. In his major-league debut the 31-year-old rookie failed with an out and lost the game.
It was never easy, even after San Diego revived its campaign and traded for Hader. Juan Soto, Josh Bell Brandon Druryon consecutive days in the early part of August. Two weeks later, Tatis was no longer sidelined and was suspended until the start of the 2023 season. Hader was subject to the most painful stretch in his decorated career. Soto, another game-changing talent was disappointing. Collectively, the Padres struggled through the summer and reached their lowest point in the desert.
They began to play after Bob Melvin’s angry speech and a players-only meeting. Change thingsThe second half of September. They ignited. After all the events, many were shocked at what was next.
They went to New York and downed 101-wine Metsin the NL Wild Card Series. They lost their Division Series opener against the 111-win DodgersThey then pulled off a huge upset by winning three consecutive matches. They won their last home game on Wednesday and fought back from a 4-0 deficit, to make it even with the NLCS.
The occupants of the Padres’ locker room were less startled than others by their successes. As they stared down elimination before Sunday’s game, Melvin gathered his players for a brief meeting. He reminded them all that they had overcome.
“The adversity and some of the tough stuff we went through and going through that L.A. series, it was all stuff that kind of added fuel to the fire,” Joe Musgrove said. “It was like every adversity, every tough stage we faced, it was always just kind of adding a little bit to the story.”
“Looking back on these last couple of months, there was a lot of ups and downs,” Bell said. “I think that when we were clicking there, when we were winning a lot of games, obviously we could look around this clubhouse and feel like we’re the best team in the big leagues. … And that meeting kind of put it into words, that feeling that I think we all felt.”
“It was pretty wild, the things that we went through,” Wil Myers said. “But I think when you have a guy like Bob, he has the ability to keep a steady hand on the wheel and really navigate through those tough times.”
Sunday was the last of the difficulties. The Padres didn’t get a hit from the Phillies ace Zack WheelerSoto hit a home run in the fourth inning, his second in as many games. It rained throughout the afternoon. Yu DarvishAlthough she struggled to grasp the baseball, she managed six innings with a strong offense of two runs. Clutch hits Jake Cronenworth and Bell — along with the Phillies’ own grip problems — put the Padres ahead in the seventh. Suarez, who went from being overwhelmed on Opening Day to emerging as San Diego’s second-best reliever, got three critical outs in the seventh. With no outs in the eighth, as the team’s best reliever watched, the right-hander succumbed to the most locked-in hitter on the planet.
Afterward, Melvin stated that Hader never was intended to be used more than four times. Since September 2019, the lefty has never retired more than five batters in one game. Manager said that he hoped to end the game with Suarez or Hader. (His third-most-trusted late-inning reliever, Luis GarcíaHe had already thrown 25 pitches that night. He expressed his confidence in Suarez who, until Sunday, had not surrendered a major-league homerun to a lefty.
“We’ve been so good about putting games away late,” Melvin said. “Suarez has been unbelievable. … So, yeah, it was tough even talking to the group there for a little bit. At the end of the day, we expected to go farther, so it’s disappointing.”
Later, Hader, who was inside the clubhouse at the time, said that he was willing to pitch in the eighth. Then, he expressed his faith in Suarez and then shifted the focus to the August-hosted team.
“It’s been a great year,” Hader said. “Obviously, you have your ups and downs. It was rough for me when I came over, and it was rough going through that rough patch. But these dudes day in, day out, every time they had my back and we had each other’s back and it was just fun. We didn’t jump off to the best start after the trade. I think it’s how you finish, right? And to do what we’ve done this year as a whole and to do what we did in the playoffs, we can’t ask for much more. There were many doubters. And what we did, I’m just proud of everybody in this room, man.”
It was a common refrain in the room.
“We did a hell of a job all year and we overcame a lot of things,” Manny Machado said. “People didn’t expect us to be here and here we were. Although we lost, we were in the Championship Series, fighting for a pennant. So, overall, it was just a great year for us.”
“I felt like we definitely exceeded expectations in these playoffs,” Myers said. “Obviously, we would’ve liked to have got this thing back to San Diego and see what happens but very proud of everybody in here. I think we did a great job responding to adversity, responding to some drama at times and being able to come out and make the postseason, make a run at it.”
“It stings and it hurts, but as a team we made it this far,” Darvish said through interpreter Shingo Horie. “So as much as it stings and hurts, there is a little sense of satisfaction, also.”
It was not difficult to find the hurt. For many around the industry, it was not a surprise that the Padres’ challenges with depth were exposed in a best-of-seven series that did not make it to a sixth game. The actual participants wondered aloud about the missed opportunities. Musgrove, who supplied a pair of memorable performances in series-clinching games, lamented his lack of execution in Friday’s Game 3 against Philadelphia. He noted that the Padres were likely to lose at most a handful of their teammates. Bell, Drury, Myers and others are eligible for free agent. Suarez, Nick Martinez and Jurickson ProfarFor 2023, keep player options.
“That’s the hardest part, is some guys aren’t going to be back next year, and this was kind of our one chance as a group to do something with the guys that are in this room,” Musgrove said. “It’s never going to be the same. It’ll always be different every year.”
Nola, who saw every inning of the playoff run, was devastated. “We want to keep playing,” he said. “This is fun. I mean, this is addicting.” He looked back on the ill-fated two-seamer to Harper. He and Suarez both agreed it was a good pitch. Nola was unable to stop wandering.
“I’m questioning myself, for sure, what I could have done,” Nola said. “I’m sure I won’t sleep for weeks because of that. I don’t know. I’m still thinking about that at-bat. I’m still trying to wrap my head around, like, what happened? What is the story? What could I have done differently? What was my mistake as a leader of the team behind the plate It’s going to haunt me for a while. I’m going to make an adjustment off of it, though, and figure it out. It’s not going to happen again.”
Harper might have made a different play if he had hit the tempting changeup he took seconds before. Melvin might have been able to squeeze six high-wire runs out of the bullpen, if Hader hadn’t entered in the eighth. Perhaps if the Padres had forced it back to Petco Park they would have been able to pull off the three-run victory against the Dodgers. Harper, the NLCS MVP, along with his fellow Phillies sluggers could not have been stopped on this night by any pitcher.
“They just won, fair and square,” Machado said.
Machado, his teammates and their pilots embarked for the last flight of the season. However, there were still many questions. It was obvious that Machado and his teammates would not have to make a decision on Oct. 23, which would have meant seven months of turbulence, highs, and turbulence, particularly near the end. The 2022 Padres will be the best team ever.
(Photo by Robert Suarez & Bryce Harper: Eric Hartline/USA Today)
