If Citizens Bank Park wasn’t Bryce Harper’s home before, it definitely is now. The adopted franchise face of the Philadelphia Phillies followed his series-winning homer in the NLCS with a defining homer against the Houston Astros’ Lance McCullers Jr. in Game 3 of the World Series, his first swing in the first game of the series in Philadelphia. Next, he whispered some wisdom to third baseman Alec Bohm – who also hit a homer – and the escape was on. The two-time MVP is now batting in the playoffs with .382/.414/.818 and has given the Phillies two wins from one championship.
That’s the goal, of course, but an even more specific goal is on the radar now: Try to put the series away without returning to Houston. To do this, they first have to win Game 4 on Wednesday evening.
Co-ace Aaron Nola gets the ball for the Phillies, while the Astros will start Cristian Javier, who was truly their third-best starter all season and one of baseball’s best strikeout pitchers. Nola, as you will recall, was knocked out in Game 1, allowing five runs in 4 1/3 innings before the Phillies rushed back to win. The Phillies and manager Rob Thomson used the extra day offered by Monday’s rain delay to put Nola in Game 4 instead of Game 5.
Javier, on the other hand, was likely underutilized after a breakout season. He served twice in the postseason, with his only start proving great: he threw 5 1/3 shutout innings against the Yankees and only allowed one hit.
The game begins at 8 p.m. ET on FOX. You can follow the action right here with Yahoo Sports.
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