The Philadelphia Phillies entered Game 1 of the NLDS with high hopes at Citizens Bank Park, and everything looked great after Kyle Schwarber sent a solo dinger into the right field stands in the bottom of the first inning. Despite a brilliant performance from starting pitcher Zack Wheeler, the Phillies were bested by the New York Mets 6-2.

Wheeler struck out nine batters and allowed just one hit through seven innings. The Phillies offense quickly fell into a slump after the Schwarber homerun, and chased pitches in the dirt for the next eight innings. Phillies slugger Nick Castellanos voiced his emotions following the loss, per SNY's post on X, formerly Twitter.

“The way that he threw the ball, he deserves to have a win, for sure,” Castellanos said.

The Mets carried their hitting success from the Wild Card series into the NLDS, and they made it clear to the Phillies bullpen. In the eighth inning, the Mets offense erupted for five runs, which ultimately left the Phillies in the dust. Brandon Nimmo singled to knock in a run, then Pete Alonso sac flied to center field. Francisco Martinez and Starling Marte accounted for the final two runs of the inning to put the Mets up 5-1 going into the ninth.

Phillies offense fail dazzling Zack Wheeler performance

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The Phillies proved on Saturday that it's not always about how you start a game, it's how you finish it. And it rang true in their Game 1 NLDS loss. The pressure is on.

The MLB postseason offers very little time to adjust and contemplate what went wrong in the previous game. The quick one-day turnaround will require the Phillies offense to be better prepared, and more aggressive at the plate. They will be up against Luis Severino, who the Mets deliberately saved for Game 2. Smart move against the NL East champions.

It's a wake up call for the Phillies, and they are desperate to respond in a huge Sunday matchup.