‘Jolt’ of ending provides all the fuel Phillies need
Phillies answer lost lead in Game 2 with MLB-record 6 HRs
PHILADELPHIA — In retrospect, a foggy place that is always visited after a huge playoff game win or lose, the Phillies have played well enough against the Braves to feel that they could easily have been looking ahead to the NLCS by now, a division series sweep behind them.
They blew a four-run lead Monday night, were caught and passed with a one-handed, drifting homer by Austin Riley, then lost in shocking fashion when a Nick Castellanos drive to center that looked like a potential game-tying or go-ahead missile was flagged down, and Bryce Harper was then doubled off first base for the third out.
True, the series was still tied heading into Game 3 on this Wednesday night, but it remained to be seen how well the Phillies could recover from such a stunning loss.
“It was a jolt of emotion,” Castellanos said of the way the second game had ended. “But seeing them really celebrate it, that kind of set the tone for this game.”
Recover from a gutting loss? Set the tone for the next game?
How’s a 10-2 Phillies victory hit you? It had to hit the Braves pretty hard, considering they now trail the best-of-5 two games to one, with Game 4 again before this roar of red in the stands.
“There’s nothing that we could do about Game 2,” Kyle Schwarber said. “It happened and it was over with, and knowing that we were coming here, we were excited, we were ready to go and we were prepared. When you have the Bank rolling like that and you have the fans into it and you get a big swing right away … we just want it to keep going from there.”
Keep going, it did. It started with Aaron Nola allowing a quick run in the third inning, but escaping what could have been additional damage. The escape set the stage, as Castellanos immediately tied the game with a homer to left field. That was the “big swing,” but the Phillies would have five more on the night, tying a major league record with six homers in a playoff game. That included another from Castellanos and two from Harper, mauling Braves pitchers on the way to a blowout victory that perhaps no one would have expected.
Well, almost no one …
“You’ve kind of got to flush it and play like you’re down still,” Brandon Marsh said of the Phillies’ fabulous flip of the script. “That’s a phenomenal team over there. They’ve shown it all year. They’re never out and we just have to do our best to put them out.”
They did a pretty good job of that, especially Harper, who had to see reports of Braves shortstop Orlando Arcia mocking him about getting doubled off at the conclusion of Game 2. Harper answered by not only hitting two homers but staring at Arcia both times he rounded second.
“It’s huge,” Schwarber said of Harper’s bombs, the first of which gave the Phillies a 4-1 lead in the third. “It gives you that boost, it gets the Bank into it. That just sends it all to another level. Once you have that happen it can put someone on their heels and you just want to keep attacking from there.”
In the process for the Phillies, it put the Game 2 loss in the distance.
“Put them out, finish the job. Don’t let them climb back to win any games,” Marsh said. “Just looking back at Game 2, we wanted to make sure we didn’t let that happen again tonight.”