LOS ANGELES -- It was only the seventh inning when Phillies closer Jhoan Duran started throwing in the right-field bullpen on Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium.

Duran had not thrown more than one inning in any outing since being acquired by Philadelphia at the Trade Deadline . He hadn’t entered a game prior to the ninth inning, except for one mop-up eighth inning just to get some work in a blowout loss a few weeks ago in Arizona.

He has recorded only two six-out saves in his career -- and both came in 2022 with the Twins.

But the Phillies were clinging to a two-run lead with their season on the line in a must-win Game 3 of the National League Division Series. So was Duran about to pitch the final two innings?

“That's what we were going to do,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson confirmed

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