Nola’s pitching, Harper’s homer cap Phils’ sweep

ST. LOUIS — 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.

After more than a decade in baseball’s wilderness, Philadelphia had won another postseason series.

It took Aaron Nola pitching four-hit ball into the seventh inning, an early home run from Bryce Harper and gutsy performances out of the bullpen. When Zach Eflin retired Tommy Edman to leave the potential tying runner on base, the Phillies had squeezed out a 2-0 victory Saturday for a sweep of a National League wild-card series.

“Everybody in that clubhouse, on this team, in this organization is super excited,” Nola said. “Just a bunch of unselfish guys, doing whatever it takes to win a ballgame.”

Nola struck out six and walked one on 101 pitches before leaving with two outs in the seventh. Jose Alvarado then retired longtime St. Louis star Yadier Molina on a popup, stranding a runner on first.

In the eighth, Seranthony Dominguez struck out Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado — the leading contenders for NL MVP — to escape a two-on, one-out jam. Those two were a combined 1-for-15 in the series with no RBIS.

With one final chance in the ninth, the Cardinals got consecutive two-out singles from Corey Dickerson and Molina. But Eflin responded by getting Edman to foul out, giving Philadelphia its first postseason series win since 2010.

The Phillies will face a familiar foe, the NL East champion Braves, beginning Tuesday in Atlanta.

■ Mets 7, Padres 3: At New York, Pete Alonso hit a tiebreaking homer in the fifth to back Jacob degrom, who allowed two runs while striking out eight in six innings, as New York forced a decisive third game in an NL wild-card series.

All-star closer Edwin Diaz protected a one-run lead in the seventh, and Jeff Mcneil keyed the Mets’ four-run burst in the bottom of the inning with a two-run double. Seth Lugo retired Josh Bell on a bases-loaded grounder in the ninth to end the 4-hour, 13-minute battle.

The teams play a decisive Game 3 on Sunday at Citi Field, with the winner advancing to a division series against top-seeded Los Angeles beginning Tuesday.