Matt Strahm’s save is ‘dream come true’ for flexible lefty

PHILADELPHIA — All year, Matt Strahm had turned to a stock delivery when questioned. Whatever role Rob Thomson would give him with the Phillies, he would accept.

Be it in the rotation to start the season, long man out of the bullpen or high-leverage arm, Strahm would dutifully sit in the bullpen, wait for his name to be read aloud, then go and perform. If it meant he could be part of something potentially more special than his previous three franchises, mired at the back-end of the rotation or early in the bullpen mix, he’d be all-in.

Once in a while, he let himself dream that just maybe, the situation would look something like Thursday night: Ninth inning, Game 4 of the NLDS, runners on the corners, the one on first the would-be tying run, and no one out.

“You always dream of it,” Strahm said. “But when you’ve got guys like Alvy (Jose Alvarado) and Craig Kimbrel in your bullpen, you don’t really anticipate it happening.”

When the dream came true Thursday, Strahm was ready to make sure it wouldn’t end with a rude awakening. The fifth arm summoned from the bullpen, Strahm provided the crucial final three outs, including a check swing third strike from nine-hitter Vaughn Grissom to seal the Phillies’ 3-1 win over the Atlanta Braves and a spot in the NLCS.

It’s his first career postseason save in his seventh playoff appearance. He had two saves in the regular season,  one of them for pitching the 10th inning Sept. 20 in Atlanta.

Strahm was learning the game plan along with the other 45,831 in attendance at Citizens Bank Park. Thomson said there was “really no plan” for Ranger Suarez. After he had lifted him after just 3.2 innings in Game 1 with his team leading 1-0, he may have had a slightly longer leash. Bullpen activity again started in the fourth when Suarez hit a spot of bother, but he pitched out of it, and then again around a leadoff hit in the fifth.

Seranthony Dominguez was the first reliever in. When he got in trouble and Matt Olson, the National League home run leader, came up, it was a readymade spot for Jose Alvarado, even in the sixth. And when Alvarado walked two with the lineup about to turn over in the seventh, Craig Kimbrel was summoned.

And after that?

“When we had the lead and we were in the parts of their lineup, I felt like that was the time to go to the Alvarados and the Kimbrels and then we’ll figure it out at the end,” Thomson said. “So it was a little unorthodox, but we got it done. And Strahm did an unbelievable job.”

Not far behind that “wherever you need me” line in Strahm’s arsenal is his endorsement of the bullpen’s depth. And Thursday, it would take five of them to extinguish fires and, ultimately, the Braves’ postseason.

“We’ve got five closers in that bullpen,” Strahm said. “Topper can pick a name out of a hat.”

Kimbrel was never going to get seven outs. So when the eighth rolled around, Jeff Hoffman and Gregory Soto stirred. Olson’s turn came up, so Soto, the lefty, went in.

At that point, Strahm did a little math about what lie ahead. He knew the Braves would probably play the card of lefty Eddie Rosario off the bench, which might shape up better for him than for Hoffman.

But all that is useless speculation until …

“Phone rings, Lunny says, ‘Strahm get hot,’ and I’m in,” Strahm said, of bullpen coach Dave Lundquist. “That’s about it.”

Strahm said his mind was clear for the trot to the mound, with Marcell Ozuna on third and Sean Murphy at first. Two sliders to Kevin Pillar got him to pop meekly to shortstop. Rosario, pinch-hitting for pinch-runner Forrest Wall, lofted a first-pitch sinker to shallow left. Strahm, from his back-of-the-envelope bullpen calculations, understood Hoffman might get Ronald Acuna Jr. if he moved from on deck to the batters’ box.

So he went right after Grissom, whose last at-bat came Sept. 24 in Triple A. And though Strahm whipped his head toward first base an iota late to see umpire Chris Guccione punch out Grissom’s attempted check swing of a 1-2 slider, the avalanche of humanity that pummeled him on the mound let him know the result.

“I can’t tell you how many at-bats I’ve had in the front yard against my brother where it’s the World Series on the line,” Strahm said. “It’s something you dream of.”