The Athletic has live coverage of Phillies vs. Diamondbacks in NLCS Game 7.
PHILADELPHIA — They were still laughing about it inside the clubhouse Tuesday night more than 40 minutes after the Phillies won a postseason game by 10 runs. Not the game. That was fun. But, moments after the Phillies moved within two wins of repeating as National League champions, a man stormed the field and ran toward five Phillies relievers who were walking in from the bullpen.
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José Alvarado faked like he was charging the man, and this distracted him because why would one of the best relievers in baseball risk it all? But, now, the man did not see a security guard racing to make an open-field tackle. Alvarado, a few feet from the crushing hit, recoiled.
Gregory Soto lost it. He collapsed, while cackling, to the ground.
“I saw the guy drop,” Soto said, “and I fell down.”
“He crushed him,” Seranthony Domínguez said. “That was crazy. It looked like WWE.”
Alvarado put his hands on his head. He could barely stand up because he was laughing so hard. Then, they all mocked Soto. It was too funny.
Phillies 10, Diamondbacks 0. None of this is real. The appropriate reaction is maniacal laughter because the Phillies have outscored their opponents by 33 runs in eight postseason games. They have slugged 19 homers and surrendered four. They have won seven of eight and, in their only loss, they blew a four-run lead in a game punctuated by a spectacular catch in center field. That was the only way to beat the Phillies so far. They have played exceptional baseball in October.
The Phillies have led after 57 of the 72 innings they’ve played in this postseason. They have trailed after two of those innings. Two.
“It feels like a dream when you’re in the dugout,” Brandon Marsh said. “For real. Just because all of us grind our tails off for moments like this. This is why we get up on those Sunday morning day games on the road — for the feelings that we felt tonight and the past couple of nights. This, it’s just amazing. We just have to keep it rolling.”
Maybe it’s time to say the quiet part out loud. It’s time to start thinking about this team in a special way. They have that look. Everyone remembers it from last October, but this feels different. The Phillies will face more adversity sometime this month. They just resemble a team that can conquer it.
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It’s Trea Turner botching a routine grounder on the first batter of Game 2 of the National League Championship Series, then following it with a solo homer in the bottom of the first inning to put the Phillies ahead. It’s Aaron Nola holding Corbin Carroll, one of the fastest men in the sport, at first base after that Turner error. It’s Alec Bohm making play after play at third base. It’s Bryson Stott hanging in there against a tough lefty reliever, Joe Mantiply, and bouncing a single to center that extended the sixth inning and guaranteed the Phillies would have favorable matchups. It’s Kyle Schwarber going first-to-third on a single to right because the scouting report says Carroll has a weak arm.
It’s a 1.39 ERA in eight postseason games. It’s an undefeated record at Citizens Bank Park.
It’s a layer of invincibility that is uncommon at this time of year.
“I mean, you can’t really draw it up any better than the last two games have gone for us,” catcher J.T. Realmuto said. “We’ve pitched the ball really well. We’ve played phenomenal defense. There’s been a ton of plays made in the infield and outfield that weren’t easy plays, and we’ve turned them all into outs. We’ve hit the ball well.
“With that being said, this series is a long way from being over.”
It is. But the series shifts to Arizona with the Phillies leading two games to none and owning a sizable pitching advantage. They’ll send Ranger Suárez to the mound in Game 3 and probably Taijuan Walker in Game 4. The Diamondbacks will start rookie Brandon Pfaadt, who is not expected to go deep into Game 3, on Thursday, followed by a bullpen game Friday in Game 4.
This series isn’t over, but it is teetering toward that.
“I think it’s just the trust that everybody has in each other,” Bohm said. “We have guys up and down the lineup. A pitching staff and bullpen that have been in big spots and pitched in big games. We’ve had some big swings in some big games. I think there’s just a lot of trust. We’re just ready to go. We have the crowd behind us.”
It’s possible the Phillies won’t play again at Citizens Bank Park until Oct. 30 — Game 3 of the World Series. And, while it is strange to consider now, Tuesday night might have been Nola’s final start at the ballpark as a Phillie. He will be a free agent after the postseason.
“He’s a really good pitcher, man,” Diamondbacks designated hitter Tommy Pham said of Nola, who pitched six scoreless innings and struck out seven. “He’s going to do well — or he should do great — in free agency.”
If the Phillies can win two out of three games at Chase Field to capture the pennant and their World Series opponent happens to be the Texas Rangers, then Nola would likely pitch on the road in that round. (The Rangers have home-field advantage over the Phillies in a potential World Series.) Nola would have Game 2, then Game 6 in that series.
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That’s for later.
Playing with a lead is a natural boost. Teams are not supposed to do that for an entire postseason. The Phillies believe they were built for this moment — they’ve used only Nola, Zack Wheeler and Suárez to start games — and a slugging lineup has supported it all.
“We’re super fortunate that we’re coming together right now in October,” Marsh said. “It’s just a whole lot of fun just seeing the guys. The work comes out to play at night. It’s amazing. Just watching dudes grind in the cage all day, then seeing the results out on the field, it’s perfect.”
The Phillies’ 15 homers in their last four postseason games are the most by any team in a four-game span in postseason history. They have set all kinds of marks for postseason dominance. There’s no measure for vibes, but Suárez waving a red towel from the dugout — the same one the fans clutch during games — after Turner’s first-inning home run is a decent indicator.
They even let backup Garrett Stubbs catch for an inning.
“Did you see that?” he said afterward.
Schwarber is the pacesetter. He bashed two more homers Tuesday night. He talked again and again last October about the postseason being the purest form of baseball. He wanted his teammates to embrace it. They did, then they ran out of vibes. They look different this time.
“This isn’t about personal stats,” Schwarber said. “This is about trying to find a way to win a baseball game. It doesn’t need to be sexy or anything like that. It can be ugly. I don’t care.”
It’s not ugly. Nothing about it is. The view is promising — almost funny. The Phillies are dominant and, in Schwarber’s mind, they are selfless.
“That’s the story of the postseason,” he said. “If we all embrace that like we are right now, good things can happen for us.”
(Top photo of Brandon Marsh, right after his sixth-inning RBI double in Game 2: Tim Nwachukwu / Getty Images)