On Wednesday night, Bryson Stott Һit the second postseason grand slam in Phillies history, and Aaron Nola pitched seven scoreless innings in a performance befitting a postseason ace, leading the Phillies to a 7-1 victory and a two-game sweep of the Miami Marlins in the NL Wild Card Series.
After easily dispatching the unexpecteԀ Marlins, the teams are set to meet again.
The Phillies beаt Ronald Acuna Jr., Matt Olson, and the Braves in a best-of-five NL Division Series thanks to home runs from both Realmuto and Olson. Saturday, in Atlanta, is opening day.
The NL East champion Phillies went 87-75 last year, 14 games behind the 101-win Braves, but still managed to win the NLDS in four games.
The Phillies again made the playoffs with 90 wins, but the Braves’ 104 victories and sixth consecutive NL East title (clinched in Philadelphia last month) put them in the driver’s seat.
The excitement of the playoffs isn’t over yet.
On Wednesday, Stott provided one when he turned on a fastball from reliever Andrew Nardi and sent it into the right field seats for a 7-0 advantage.
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The Stott Shot, in which he slammed his bat while sprinting down the first-base line, set off wild celebrations among Phillies supporters as they began counting down to a World Series victory.
When Nola needed a boost, the crowd of 46,000 chanted “Let’s Go, Nola!” after Zack Wheeler’s strong performance in Game 1.
After the World Series, Nola will be a free agent, with his one real weakness being his inability to pitch shutout innings.
After Realmuto’s home run in the fourth made the score 3-0, Nola got into trouble in the fifth.
To close the inning, he got Jess Sánchez to ground into a double play with runners on first and second and one out.
More so than by pitching, Nola picked off Miami’s second major threаt.
Jon Berti’s deep shot into the left-center gap in the third inning knocked off left fielder Cristian Pache’s glove for a one-out double, giving the Marlins a momentary reprieve.
Then, Berti bizarrely tried to steаl third base as the righty was winding up to throw, but he was thrown out by Nola.
After seeing Berti take off, Nola stepped toward third and threw him out without even delivering a pitch.
The Marlins’ errors are typical for a team with little postseason experience.
These are the types of astute, game-changing plays that have been key to the Phillies’ success in the postseason the past two years.
The Phillies breezed past Miami starter Braxton Garrett as their fans waved red rally flags and many wore Phillies overalls, made popular by backup catcher Garrett Stubbs.
Even though the Phillies failed to Һit a home run in Game 1, they were able to put together runs against Garrett the following night.
In the third inning, Kyle Schwarber gave the Cubs a 1-0 lead with a double to right field that drove in Pache.
Pache sprinted around the bases from first and slid headfirst into home, his helmet still bouncing on the dirt. Schwarber scored twice thanks to an RBI single by $300 million shortstop Trea Tuner.
By that point, it was clear that we were going to win Game 2.
There’s a reason the Phillies playoffs are known as “Red October,” after all.
Citizens Bank simply never has a losing streak. Not very often, at any rate.
The Phillies, who won the 2008 World Series at home, improved to 24-11 in the ballpark throughout the playoffs, the best record of any club in any park with at least 20 playoff games played.
In the fourth inning, Realmuto put the Marlins up 3-0 with a home run off David Robertson, his fourth of the playoffs.
In the eighth, Josh Bell’s RBI single put Miami ahead.