Thomson talks bullpen decisions and relief struggles ahead of Game 3

NEW YORK – Barely 16 hours after one of the most excitingly exhilarating playoff wins in their franchise history; a barroom brawl of a ballgame at Citizens Bank Park that ultimately sent the Phillies racing onto the field in a tizzy of equal parts joy and relief, Rob Thomson took a seat in the interview room at Citi Field.

And pretty much all anybody wanted to talk about was what a white-knuckle experience going to his bullpen has been lately.

Which is understandable, honestly. As crucial as it was to win Game 2 at home, averting being pushed to the brink of elimination in the NLDS and seeing their World-Series-Or-Bust goal going poof! right in front of their disbelieving eyes, that was only a temporary bandage.

Now it comes down to a Best-of-3 with the Mets holding home-field advantage.

And the burning issue of the relievers — so good for so much of the regular season, so problematical the last few weeks — is harder to get around than a stalled big rig in the middle of a one-lane country bridge.

All-Star right-hander Jeff Hoffman: four earned runs allowed in his final outing of the regular season, three more without retiring a batter in Game 1.

All-Star left-hander Matt Strahm: Two games, one inning, four earned runs since the playoffs started.

Acquired-at-the-deadline-to-pitch-in-save-situations right-hander Carlos Estevez: pitched a shutout eighth in Game 2 but was scored on in three of his last six regular-season appearances.

Right-hander Orion Kerkering, advertised as a closer-in-waiting: a 5.40 earned run average in two NLDS games, more than twice the 2.29 he posted during the regular season.

Throw in Jose Ruiz and Tanner Banks, each with a 9.00 ERA. Add it all up and it comes to a composite 15.00 ERA for the relievers. Yes, two games is a small sample. But the pen also had a 4.93 ERA in the last 13 games of the regular season, allowing at least one run eight times.

So it's not surprising that, even in the soft afterglow of what could still turn out to be a postseason-saving victory, the manager fielded 10 questions early Monday afternoon in advance of Game 3 on Tuesday and six concerned the 'pen. The first involved his trust level.

"I think you have to trust them, you know," he said. "They've been performing all year long. It's just a matter of execution. But these guys adjust all the time and they've been so good all year, I think you have to trust them.

"I think like hitting, like your starting rotation, your bullpen is contagious one way or the other. We just have to snap out of this thing and start executing pitches and hitting our spots. Like I said, they will. I have full confidence in them."

What he didn't say, but may well have been thinking, went something like this:

Look, I don't know what the hell's going on here. People have been trying to figure this game out for a hundred years. But I do know that there are no other options right now. If there was somebody we thought was better on the taxi squad, we'd have put them on the postseason roster. So, yeah, all I can do is keep sending them back out there and hope that it turns around before it's too late. And if they don't, there's not a thing I can do about it.

The one wild card left in the deck is left-hander Jose Alvarado. When he's on, he's as dominant as any reliever in baseball. But he also struggles with his command at times. And since he hasn't pitched since the last day of the regular season, Thomson conceded there's no way of knowing exactly what he'll get when Alvarado does find his way back to the mound and that he finds the prospect a trifle worrying.

"A little bit," he said. "I think we need to get him into a game, for sure. When he pitched in the intrasquad game (Wednesday) he was really good, really efficient, hit his spots. But, yeah, he's a guy that needs work, consistent work to maintain that command."

Even Game 3 starter Aaron Nola was asked about the struggles of the bullpen that he described earlier in the season as the best he's ever played with.

"They've been so good all year," he said. "Every time I come out of a game or any of the (starters) come out of a game, we feel confident with those guys coming in and shutting the door.

"Sometimes there are slip-ups, it's happens. It's baseball. We're all humans. We're playing good teams. We're playing a good Mets team earlier. I feel confident, for sure. They've been really good all year for us, they're going to come in and do the best they can and do what they've done all year."

No doubt Nola, and everybody else in the Phillies' clubhouse, sincerely believes that. Again, though, it doesn't matter.

All that matters is how the relievers perform the next time they get in a game. If they approximate what they did most of the season, the Phillies have a legit chance to go deep into October.

If they don't, well, there are only so many times the lineup can save the day with multiple late cavalry charges.