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NLCS Game 5 - Sunday Afternoon, October 23rd in Philadelphia
Phillies win series, 3-1
One Sentence Summary: In a game Phillies fans will be reminiscing over for decades, Bryce Harper connected for a two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth, giving his team the lead and helping propel them to the 2022 World Series.
What It Means: It means so much. This is surreal. I, along with many other Phillies fans, had completely written this team off in September when they couldn't seem to do anything right. We missed the first four innings of this game as Doug's travel baseball team was playing in a championship game in Delaware in a steady and cold rain. His team lost and we quietly started the two-hour drive home, in a downpour, with the Phillies holding a slim 2-1 lead. We listened as Seranthony Dominguez uncorked three wild pitches in the seventh allowing the Padres to take a 3-2 lead. And we lost our minds just north of Wilmington on 495 when Harper hit his series clinching home run. Other drivers on the highway who weren't listening to the game were probably terrified when they looked into our car. We had crossed the Commodore Barry Bridge and were in Woolwich, New Jersey when Nick Castellanos caught the fly ball from Austin Nola, sending the Phillies back to the World Series for the first time since 2009. It's crazy. This team is wonderful. Hard to believe, Harry.
What Happened / Featured Card: Rhys Hoskins hit his fifth home run of the postseason in the third, giving the Phillies a 2-0 lead, and Juan Soto connected for a solo home run in the fourth off Phillies' starter Zack Wheeler. Dominguez was wild in the seventh, giving up a game-tying double to Josh Bell after falling behind 3-1 and allowing Jake Cronenworth to move to second on a wild pitch. Two more wild pitches gave the Padres a 3-2 lead, allowing pinch-runner Jose Azocar to score.
What It Means: It means so much. This is surreal. I, along with many other Phillies fans, had completely written this team off in September when they couldn't seem to do anything right. We missed the first four innings of this game as Doug's travel baseball team was playing in a championship game in Delaware in a steady and cold rain. His team lost and we quietly started the two-hour drive home, in a downpour, with the Phillies holding a slim 2-1 lead. We listened as Seranthony Dominguez uncorked three wild pitches in the seventh allowing the Padres to take a 3-2 lead. And we lost our minds just north of Wilmington on 495 when Harper hit his series clinching home run. Other drivers on the highway who weren't listening to the game were probably terrified when they looked into our car. We had crossed the Commodore Barry Bridge and were in Woolwich, New Jersey when Nick Castellanos caught the fly ball from Austin Nola, sending the Phillies back to the World Series for the first time since 2009. It's crazy. This team is wonderful. Hard to believe, Harry.
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In the eighth, down to their last six outs and faced with a cross-country flight to San Diego for Monday night's Game 6, J.T. Realmuto singled to left to open the inning. Harper then almost serenely sent a Robert Suarez pitch just barely over the left-center field wall, sending the 45,485 fans at Citizens Bank Park into an all-out frenzy. Phillies' radio voice Scott Franzke described it as "Bedlam at the Bank."
In the top of the ninth, David Robertson struck out Will Myers but then issued back-to-back walks to Brandon Drury and Ha-Seong Kim. Ranger Suarez entered the game, needing just two pitches for the final two outs. As Castellanos squeezed his glove and Franzke made his call that the Phillies were World Series bound, our car erupted in cheers, screams and claps. The Philadelphia Phillies are the 2022 National League Champions.
After unpacking the car and drying off, I watched all the highlights, post-game interviews and the awarding of the NLCS MVP trophy to Harper. In a week's time, my family and I will be back at the ballpark, attending the 2022 World Series against the Astros as the Phillies try to win their third title in franchise history.
2 comments:
Never would have guessed. I'm a Mets fan, so I'm not often rooting for you guys, but I hope you beat those Astros! Enjoy going to the game, hope it's a great time for you.
Playing hot stove catch-up on your posts. Like you, I was in the car for this amazing game, although I was away all weekend for my daughter's regatta in Boston as well as for her to see some colleges, so I didn;t get to soak up the Phillies Fever in town that weekend. I got to watch the two earlier games on TV, but this one I had to listen to Doug Glanville and Jon Sciambi on ESPN Radio. They were good, but I would have rather heard Franzke and LA.... Glad you at least got to listen to them make the call!
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