Phillies send Braves home
Brandon Marsh hit a three-run homer and J.T. Realmuto lined an insidethe-park home run that sent the Phillies bolting headfirst into the NL Championship Series for the first time since 2010 with an 8-3 win over the Braves in Game 4 Saturday.
Realmuto became the first catcher to hit an inside-the-parker in postseason history and Bryce Harper punctuated the romp with a clinching home run that helped the Phillies take the NL Division Series 3-1 against the World Series champion Braves.
The Braves’ loss meant Major League Baseball hasn’t had a repeat champ since the Yankees won three straight from 19982000.
The Phillies finished third in the NL East, 14 games behind the 101-win Braves this season, but now is hitting on all cylinders under manager Rob Thomson. He took over for the fired Joe Girardi and transformed a team that was 22-29 in early June.
And the Phillies used a dose of Marsh Madness to keep the party rolling in October.
Heck, call it Mash Madness, as the Phillies turned Citizens Bank Park into a cozy home bandbox for the second straight game — and with another fired-up, towel-waving crowd along for every long ball.
After Rhys Hoskins spiked his bat on a threerun shot in a Game 3 win, it was Marsh’s turn in the second inning to hammer his own three-run homer in Game 4. Braves starter Charlie Morton was hit on his pitching elbow by Alec Bohm’s single traveling 71.9 mph to lead off the inning. After being checked, Morton allowed a single to Jean Segura and hung a 2-2 curveball that the No. 9 hitter Marsh launched deep into the right field seats for a 3-0 lead. The 24-year-old Marsh is known as much for his stringy hair and ZZ Top-esque beard as he is for being one of the top young players on the Phillies. Marsh, who also doubled in the fourth, was acquired from the Angels in August just ahead of this season’s trade deadline. Phillies President Dave Dombrowski swung another deadline deal with the Angels that got them Game 4 starter Noah Syndergaard, also known for his long locks.
Hey, it will be easy for the Phillies to let their hair down and party.
Yanks move Judge down in the order:
Aaron Judge was dropped from the leadoff spot to No. 2 in the Yankees’ lineup for Game 3 of the AL Division Series on Saturday as they try to break the home run king out of his postseason slump.
Judge, who set the AL record with 62 home runs this season and contended for the Triple Crown, was 0 for 8 in the series with seven strikeouts entering Saturday’s game. He struck out four times in the Yankees’ 4-2 loss in 10 innings in Game 2, and got booed at Yankee Stadium.
Naylor out for Guardians:
The Guardians tossed Gabriel Árias into the deep end of the postseason.
The rookie infielder made just his second career major league start at first base Saturday night in Game 3 of the AL Division Series against the Yankees.
The 22-year-old Árias filled in for Josh Naylor, who jammed his right ankle in Game 2 on Friday.