By Anthony Caruso III | Publisher
The Philadelphia Phillies motto this playoff run has been “Why not us?” They were the last National League team to enter the playoffs.
And they are the last National League team standing. The Phillies defeated the San Diego Padres 4-3 on Sunday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies are now 5-0 at home this postseason.
“We have four more wins and we want to bring that other trophy back to Philadelphia for our fans and our organization,” Phillies Owner John Middleton said.
READ MORE: Here is our latest MLB coverage.
They have a date with either the Houston Astros and the New York Yankees in the World Series. The Astros and Yankees will be playing tonight in Game 4 at Yankee Stadium.
With the win, the Phillies won the 2022 National League Championship Series. This is their eighth pennant in team history.
“Really, in Spring Training, I believed we had the talent to do it,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “We got off to a little bit of a slow start but we hung in there. This is the most resilient that I’ve ever been around. I’ve been here for five years. I’ve been told if we get in, the fans will show up. We got in and everybody showed up.”
This is their first World Series appearance since 2009. They were defeat by the Yankees in that Fall Classic.
One year earlier, the Phillies defeated the Tampa Bay Rays. This was their second World Series Championship in team history.
Thomson is the third mid-season manager replacement to reach the World Series. Thomson was named interim manager after Joe Girardi was fired.
Bryce Harper was named the NLCS MVP. In the bottom of the eighth inning with the Phillies trailing by one run, Harper came up to at-bat.
With one swing of the bat, Harper cemented his legacy in Philadelphia. He hit a two-run home run to deep left center to put the Phillies up 4-3.
READ MORE: Here is our latest Sports coverage.
The Phillies hoped that a one-run lead was enough going into the top of the ninth inning. And it was.
But it was nerve-wracking for some time. Veteran pitcher David Robertson put two Padres on with one out.
Ranger Suárez came in to try to get the final two outs. Suárez got Trent Grisham to bunt for the second out.
Then, on the final out, Suárez got Austin Nola to fly out to Nick Castellanos.
“We had Grisham up, a left-handed hitter and last year, Ranger closed a little bit for us,” Thomson said. “He did a great job. I think his standing heart rate was probably 63 when he was on the mound. I trust him a lot.”
The Padres took a 3-2 lead in the seventh inning. José Azócar scored on a wild pitch for the one-run lead.
Josh Bell doubled to tie the game, as Jake Cronenworth scored.
San Diego got on the board when Juan Soto hit a home run in the fourth inning.
The Phillies took a 2-0 lead in the third inning when Rhys Hoskins hit his third home run in two days. He hit a 395-foot home run to deep left center, as Kyle Schwarber scored.
Phillies relief pitcher José Alvarado received the win. Suárez closed out the game with a save.
Padres 31-year-old rookie Robert Suárez received the loss.
Subscribe to our newsletter!
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Telegram, Tumblr, YouTube, and TruthSocial
. Keep Independent Journalism Alive! Ad-free experience and Exclusive Premium-plus content. Join our Paid Substack for additional content for $10 per month. This is ad-free content. We believe that what you read matters and great writing is valuable. Through Substack, writers can flourish by being paid directly by their readers. © 2007-2023 The Capital Sports Report. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcasted, rewritten, or redistributed.
