The final installment of Phillies-Braves 2023 was a little closer than previous iterations, but it was also more similar as the Phillies fought their way to a win and a second straight trip to the National League Championship Series.
No. 1 Atlanta Braves vs. No. 4 Philadelphia Phillies, Game 4: Phillies 3, Braves 1 (Philadelphia wins 3-1)
Game summary:
The Phillies made life uncomfortable for Atlanta ace Spencer Strider from the jump, with two baserunners in each of the first three innings. In the middle inning, Nick Castellanos hit two solo dingers around one from Trea Turner, and that was all the Phillies needed to score.
In the final innings, the Philly bullpen stifled the vaunted Braves’ offense, and with the raucous crowd at Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia secured its ticket to the next round.
Atlanta’s only run of the night came on a solo home run by Austin Riley that gave the Braves a 1-0 lead early in the fourth, but they lost the lead in the bottom half of the inning and never regained it.
Arguably the Braves’ best chance to take control of the game came in the bottom of the seventh when Craig Kimbrel was caught in a bases-loaded jam following three two-out walks. But this web gem from Philly center fielder Johan Rojas quickly put an end to that.
Key moment:
On the bright side, it was Castellanos’ second home run of the night, making him the first player in MLB history to post-season back-to-back multi-homer games. After hitting two of the Phillies’ six dingers in Game 3 on Wednesday, Castellanos scored the Phillies’ first and third runs on home runs in Game 4, clinching the decisive win.
On a negative note, the defining moment may have been Bryce Harper’s possible elbow injury early in the eighth period. As Harper caught the ball and Matt Olson ran toward first base, Olson’s knee appeared to collide with Harper’s surgically repaired right elbow, and the Phillies star immediately jumped away, wincing in obvious pain.
After making the inning-ending play, Harper briefly went to the clubhouse to get checked out, but then returned to the dugout and then to first base for the ninth inning. Afterwards he said it was just him joking, but the situation was probably worth monitoring in the coming days.
Impact player:
Castellanos. Enough said.
After the game:
Thursday marked the final act of an unusually tense drama involving Harper, Braves shortstop Orlando Arcia and the national baseball media. As you may recall, Arcia mocked Harper in front of reporters after the slugger’s game-winning baserunning error in Game 2, reportedly saying, “Ha-ha, Atta-Boy, Harper!” repeatedly.
That apparently fell back on Harper, who glared at Arcia as he circled the bases on both home runs in the Phillies’ stunning Game 3 win. The Braves later protested against reporters reporting what happened to Travis d’Arnaud in front of them. He insulted the media and Arcia said through an interpreter, “He shouldn’t have heated it up.”
Ultimately, these complaints from the Braves just gave the Phillies more material to mock them after their season ended. In T-shirt form.
Phillies players too allegedly sprayed Harper with beer and yelled, “Atta boy, Harper!”
What’s next?
The Phillies are moving on. They face the Arizona Diamondbacks in NLCS Game 1, which begins Monday at 8:07 p.m. ET.
The Braves finished the year having won 104 games in the regular season.