Phillies vs. Marlins score: Live updates from 2023 MLB playoffs as Bryce Harper leads reigning NL champs

The Philadelphia Phillies are one win away from advancing in the 2023 MLB playoffs. The reigning NL champs took Game 1 of their Wild Card Series matchup against the Miami Marlins, 4-1, Tuesday night in front of a raucous Citizens Bank Park crowd. Zack Wheeler threw 6 2/3 innings of one-run ball, and the Phillies got RBI hits from Alec Bohm, Bryson Stott, Christian Pache and Nick Castellanos.

Wheeler struck out eight and did not walk a batter. The Marlins got their lone run off the right-hander in the seventh inning before he exited after 100 pitches.

The Phillies have the chance to win the best-of-three series Wednesday night, while the Marlins will attempt to force a decisive Game 3. The winner of this series advances to face the top-seeded Atlanta Braves in the postseason bracket.

Here are three things to know about the Phillies’ Game 1 victory.

1.  Wheeler dominates

Zack Wheeler played a pivotal role in the Phillies’ run to the World Series last year. In six postseason starts, he amassed a 2.78 ERA and a 33-7 strikeout-to-walk ratio across 35 2/3 innings.

Wheeler added another impressive start to his postseason resume on Tuesday, holding the Marlins to just one run on five hits and no walks in 6 2/3 innings. Wheeler struck out eight batters and generated a game-high 18 swinging strikes.

The Marlins were unable to record multiple baserunners in a frame until the seventh inning. Even then, Wheeler allowed one well-struck ball (a Josh Bell double to right field) before surrendering infield singles to Jake Burger and Bryan De La Cruz. The latter plated Miami’s only run.

2. Phillies get lineup-wide contributions

How’s this for symmetry: the Phillies notched 10 hits on the night, with everyone contributing at least one. (Trea Turner, ever the overachiever, picked up the slack by recording two.) Alec Bohm, Bryson Stott, Cristian Pache, and Nick Castellanos each drove in runs, with Bohm’s third-inning double opening scoring and Castellanos’ eighth-inning double closing it. 

Amusingly, Bryce Harper was the last Phillie to enter the hit column. If his postseason history is any indication — heck, if his regular season is any indication — he could be in for another big month. Harper batted .349/.414/.746 with six home runs and 13 RBI in 17 games last October.

3. Harper runs through stop sign

Speaking of Harper, he even ran through a stop sign in the bottom of the eighth on Castellanos’ double to score the Phillies’ fourth run. Take a look:

Perhaps Harper was just looking out for third-base coach Dusty Wathan, who had a rough night. First, by electing to not send Kyle Schwarber tagging up in the first inning on a fly out to right field (the Phillies would not score that frame); and later, by sending Nick Castellanos only to see him thrown out at home by Jazz Chisholm Jr. Observe: