PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia Phillies had a weekend of viral highlights as they rejoined the NLCS for the first time since 2010 by beating the Atlanta Braves 8-3 in Game 4 of the NLDS on Saturday.
The decisive win included a three-run blast from center fielder Brandon Marsh in the second inning, an inside-the-park home run from catcher JT Realmuto in the third, and a reverse shot from Bryce Harper in the eighth. The Phillies beat Atlanta 17-4 in Games 3 and 4 to advance.
“The last 24 hours have shown what we’re made of,” said Marsh after the win. “A lot of good things are happening with this ball racket. We just have to keep going, keep our heads down and focus on the task at hand. The last 24 hours have been quite a lot of fun.”
Hoskins’ home run and bat spike in Game 3 was a game-changing moment, but Realmuto’s scamper around bases in Game 4 after knocking the ball off the midfield wall could be the defining moment of the series.
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“I’m not usually a guy who shows a lot of emotions,” said Realmuto. “When I slid home, I couldn’t help it. I was so excited. Excited for this city. Excited for this team. It was one of those moments that I will definitely remember forever.”
Fans will also remember coming to a crescendo as Realmuto rounded third place and headed towards him. Players raved about how Philly fans turned out for the two home games after the team ended the season on the road for three weeks. The lengthy road trip included a wildcard streak win over the St. Louis Cardinals.
“When you see the alumni coming back and everyone talking about it, from the ’80s and ’93 team, they’re talking about what this city is doing and how they have your back, how fiery and passionate they are, I think every single night we see that ‘ Harper said. “For them, coming out for the last two days is so much fun.”
Former Philly Pat Burrell threw away the first pitch on Saturday, a day after Shane Victorino did the same.
Meanwhile, Harper advanced to his first league championship series after signing with the Phillies ahead of the 2019 season. The team added hitters Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos before this season but got off to a slow start in 2022, leading to a change in leadership. Bench coach Rob Thomson took over and things started to turn around.
“We’ve had ups and downs throughout the season, just like any other club,” said Thomson. “But they knew that eventually they would come out and win again. And we did.
“Sometimes you have to reset them a little, whether it’s to take them out of a certain role or give them a day off or whatever.
The Phillies scored 24 runs in the four game series despite being shut out in Game 2.
Marsh’s homer came from Braves starter Charlie Morton not long after he was hit in the elbow by a line drive from Alec Bohm.
Morton would eventually get out of the game, continuing a trend of underperforming Atlanta starters. Both Max Fried and Spencer Strider also had bad outings.
While the Braves tried to figure things out on the mound, the Phillies took advantage.
“It’s really cool that everyone in the room is coming together with this one common goal,” said left fielder Kyle Schwarber.
Schwarber said he signed with Philadelphia for one reason: He knew they had a shot at winning. Castellanos expressed the same sentiments — as did Harper. He went 8 for 16 in the series.
“You think that’s always been the goal, to get where we are right now,” Harper said. “But to go further. This is step two in what we’ve been through. Step one is the joker. This is step two and (now) we have two more.”
The Phillies rotation should be well established for the NLCS, which begins Tuesday. Both Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola will rest fully before retaking the hill.
“We still have a long way to go, but we will absorb it today,” said Nola. “Team played this series just great.”
Philadelphia could get a boost in its bullpen as closer David Robertson says he almost recovered from a calf injury sustained while partying in the wild card series.
The Phillies are healthy and as confident as they have been all season going into baseball’s Final Four.
“The most beautiful thing about all of this is that nobody really knows what this team went through unless you’ve been here every day,” Schwarber said. “Seeing this whole team come together gives me goosebumps.”