Phillies earn spot in NLDS
The Phillies wasted no time taking their raucous celebration from the infield at Busch Stadium, where the Cardinals had trudged off to mourn the end of an era, into the visiting clubhouse, where the champagne flowed freely and Calum Scott’s “Dancing On My Own” pounded through the speakers.
After more than a decade in baseball’s wilderness, the Phillies had finally won another postseason series.
It took Aaron Nola pitching four-hit ball into the seventh inning, an early home run from Bryce Harper and some gutsy performances out of the bullpen. But when Zach Eflin retired Tommy Edman to leave the tying run on base, the Phillies had squeezed out a 2-0 victory over the Cardinals on Saturday night in St. Louis for a sweep of their National League wild-card series.
Long known for his September struggles, Nola proved to be an October ace. The unflappable righthander struck out six and walked one on 101 pitches before leaving with two outs in the seventh. Jose Alvarado then retired longtime Cardinals star Yadier Molina on a popup, stranding a runner on first.
With one final chance in the ninth, the Cardinals got consecutive two-out singles from Corey Dickerson and retiring Yadier Molina. But Eflin, the Phillies’ starter-turned-closer, responded by getting Edman to foul out, giving the Phillies their first postseason series win since topping the Reds in the 2010 divisional round.
The Phillies will face a familiar foe, the NL East champion Braves, beginning Tuesday night in Atlanta.
Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols, who also is retiring, had a pair of singles.
Mariners rally, advance:
Adam Frazier hit a tiebreaking RBI double in the ninth inning, and the Mariners erased a sevenrun deficit while topping the Blue Jays 10-9 on Saturday in Toronto for a sweep of their AL wildcard series.
It was the biggest road comeback win in playoff history and baseball’s largest comeback victory to clinch a postseason series. Next up for the resilient Mariners are the Astros in the AL Division Series.
Making the franchise’s first playoff appearance since 2001, the Mariners trailed 8-1 through five innings, but it tied it at 9 with four runs in the eighth.
No ALDS for Chapman:
Yankees reliever Aroldis Chapman was ruled out for the ALDS after he skipped a mandatory workout, leading to a fine and likely ending the All-star’s seven-year tenure with the Yankees.
The 34-year-old flamethrower probably wouldn’t have been on the 26-man roster for the Yankees’ series against the Guardians that starts Tuesday night due to erratic performances and inconsistent mechanics.
Chapman, who hasn’t gotten a save since May 17, had been scheduled to pitch batting practice Friday at Yankee Stadium but the team said he instead was in Miami. After speaking with Chapman, manager Aaron Boone told GGM Brian Cashman he instructed the pitcher to stay away from the club.