Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)
Phillies blast off on Padres
Hoskins hits two homers to ignite party; lead is 3-1
PHILADELPHIA — Bryce Harper stood on second base after a goahead double and ran his hands across the script “Phillies” on his jersey as Citizens Bank Park shook in ecstasy over a World Series that suddenly seemed oh-so-close.
BASEBALL
Harper punched his fists toward the ground and blurted a cuss-filled exclamation sure to be printed on T-shirts everywhere in Philly: “This is my (expletive) house!” With one more win, it will be a home for the World Series.
Rhys Hoskins homered twice, Kyle Schwarber hit a solo shot into shrubbery and Harper doubled to put Philadelphia ahead for good in a wild 10-6 win over the San Diego Padres on Saturday night for a 3-1 lead in the NL Championship Series.
“I believe our team is built for October, I really do,” Harper said.
Harper — who signed a 13-year, $330 million free-agent deal in 2019 — had made Philly his home and a championship contender with a postseason already among the greatest in franchise history. He’s hit in nine straight games, reached base in 10 straight games, is hitting .410 in the postseason and already told his team they weren’t losing in the postseason.
“It’s just a lot of fun to be able to be part of this group,” Harper said. “It’s a lot of fun to be able to come to the park every day knowing our fans are going to show out each night.”
J.T. Realmuto also homered for the big-hitting Phillies, who are trying to become the first third-place team to reach the Fall Classic.
The Phillies send ace Zack Wheeler to the mound in Game 5 on Sunday at Citizens Bank Park to try and clinch their first NL pennant since 2009.
“Yeah, you can’t write it better,” Hoskins said. “I can’t imagine what tomorrow is going to be like.”
Get the champagne ready, just in case.
No matter the outcome, Game 4 was one to remember for the Phillies and their fans.
The Phillies trailed 4-0 in the first and then chipped away, slugged away and finally put away the Padres. The clincher came in a fourrun fifth inning against reliever Sean Manaea. Trailing 6-4, Schwarber walked to start the rally. Hoskins then ripped his second homer of the game for the tying shot. Realmuto walked to set the stage for Harper.
The 2021 NL MVP lined the goahead double that rolled to the left-center wall for a 7-6 lead as the Philly crowd absolutely exploded. Harper then told the fans exactly where he lived — and his house is their home, too.
The Phillies fans refused to sit — and they had no reason to the rest of the game. Nick Castellanos singled in Harper to complete the scoring in the fifth.
Schwarber smashed the ball into the shrubs in dead center in the sixth for his third homer of this series and Realmuto punctuated the scoring with a solo shot in the seventh.
The Phillies 1-5 hitters went 9-for18 with four homers, three doubles, nine RBIS and 10 runs scored.
“You get the one big hit, it gets louder, and that’s where you can really snowball things,” Hoskins said. “We’re not new to scoring runs in bunches, but in the playoffs when things are so much tighter and more intense, the crowd is one way to kind of let that snowball happen, and we saw it twice tonight.”