The Philadelphia Phillies are now one game away from a second trip to the National League Championship Series after a Game Three rout that showed the Atlanta Braves why you shouldn’t let your locker room write a check your starting pitching might not be able to cash.
By Chris Murray
For the Philadelphia Sunday SUN
Photos by Webster Riddick
After Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper got doubled off first base to end Game 2 of the National League Division Series on Monday night, Atlanta Braves shortstop Orlando Arcia clowned Harper for the base running gaffe, chiding Harper during his media interviews by saying, “Ha, ha atta boy, Harper.”
Bryce Harper brings in his second home run.
On Wednesday, Harper bashed two home runs — one of them a three-run homer — to help lead the Phillies to a 10-2 rout of the National League East champs…and to show Arcia that if you’re going to talk smack about a future Hall of Famer with a power bat, you might want to have the pitching to back it up.
The Phillies are one game away from advancing to the National League Championship Series. If they advance, they’ll take on the Arizona Diamondbacks, who swept the Los Angeles Dodgers to advance Wednesday night.
In last year’s NLCS, America saw just how much Harper thrives in the spotlight.
So, Phillies manager Rob Thomson said, Harper’s performance on Wednesday should be a surprise to no one.
Bryce Harper and Nick Castellanos celebrate their homers.
“(Harper) is a big game player. He really is,” he said. “In these moments, he steps up. He wanted to correct himself from the base running error. That gets him going a little bit. He wants to win, and he comes to play every day. When the lights are the brightest, he shows up.”
For the game, the Phillies offense dominated Braves pitchers for a total of six home runs including two from right fielder Castellanos and two more from Trea Turner and Brandon Marsh. Castellanos said the end of Monday’s 5-4 loss in game 2 was the best motivation for the team’s offensive explosion in Game 3.
“I think the way the game ended in Atlanta was perfect because I think that jolt of emotion and seeing them really celebrate kind of set the tone for this game,” Castellanos said. “Having that exclamation point on the loss I think was perfect for our group of guys.”
The Phillies have a 2-1 lead in the best of the five series and if they can somehow get past Atlanta ace Spencer Strider in Game 4, they will be playing to defend their National League title from last year. The Phils will start left-handed pitcher Ranger Suarez, who pitched three and thirds innings in Game 1 of the series.
The Braves jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the third inning on a run-scoring single by second baseman Ozzie Albies that brought home Ronald Acuna Jr., who reached on a double to right.
But in the bottom of the third inning, the Phillies offense, led by Harper, got downright medieval on Braves starting right-handed pitcher Bryce Elder and scored six runs with the big blow coming on Harper’s three-run homer that broke a 1-1 tie and effectively ended the competitive portion of the game.
The Phillies started that third inning with a solo-homer from Castellanos and got a two-run RBI double from catcher J.T. Realmuto after Harper’s home run. Shortstop Trea Turner added another solo shot in the fifth inning Castellanos hit his second dinger in the bottom of eighth.
When Harper hit the three-run homer, he took time to watch it fly out of the park and when he rounded the bases, he stared at Arcia as if to say, ‘Do you know who I am, son?’ And for good measure, Harper added another round-tripper in the fifth inning.
“It’s a super competitive game that we play from both sides of the ball. I enjoy the commentary,” Harper said. “Everybody’s competitive that we play against. I was staring right at at (Arcia).”
On the mound, the Phillies got another solid postseason outing from starting pitcher Aaron Nola. In five and two-thirds innings, Nola had nine strikeouts and allowed just two runs on six hits. He got even better on the mound after the Phillies had that big six-run third inning.
“I think when a starting pitcher gets that big of a lead, that run support is awesome, especially against the Braves,” Nola said. “I really try to pitch like it’s zero-zero. That’s how you have to do that against this team because they’re pretty strong one through nine in their order. I just wanted to stay focused and make my pitches and get that lead-off out because they can run the bases. That was my mindset tonight.”
You can catch Game Four of the National League Division Series between the Philadelphia Phillies and Atlanta Braves on TBS tonight beginning on 8p.m. You can also stream the game on the Max app.
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