Welcome to Red October: Onto the next!
Photo Credit: Philadelphia Phillies
Welcome Philadelphia Phillies for the first time since 2010, to the NLCS! It’s been a Red October, indeed.
The Phillies find themselves in a best of 7 battle against the San Diego Padres. Both teams were deemed as the underdog in their fight to get to this place. Phillies, who had 87 wins this regular season, beat out the Atlanta Braves who had 101 wins under their belts. As for the Padres, they had an 89 winning game season, beating out the 111 winning Dodgers.
There will be two interesting matchups this series. We will be seeing former National’s teammates face each other in Bryce Harper and Jaun Soto. Even more exciting to see will be brother versus brother in our Aaron Nola against the Padre’s catcher Austin Nola. It’ll be fun to see which parent is rooting for who as they’ve typically done all year.
Our bullpen who was once deemed one of the worst in the league, now have some heavy hitters in there. Our regulars, Seranthony Domínguez and José Alvarado have really stepped up. Domínguez has allowed just one hit with eight strikeouts over 3 2/3 scoreless innings this post season alone. While we were all once nervous whenever we heard his name, he now brings a realm of confidence over the fans. Alvarado? The man is a beast! Over his last 30 appearances, he has had an ERA of just 1.61. With names like Zach Eflin, Ranger Suarez, and Noah Syndergaard, we are finally in good hands.
Our top players right now are HOT! DH Bryce Harper is currently 10 for 23 (.435 ERA) with a 1.437 OPS in the last 6 games. Rhys Hoskins had a slow and frustrating start when postseason started, however in his last two games he is 3 for 8. Kyle Schwarber was another player the fans have been getting frustrated with. His luck seems to be turning as he has reached base 6 times in the last two games. With JT Realmuto, Nick Castellanos and not to mention our beloved “daycare,” our offense should be good to go!
Tonight’s game we will see Zack Wheeler on the mound against the Padre’s Yu Darvish. The NLCS schedule goes as follows.. Starting in San Diego, game one will be at 8:03, with game two on Wednesday at 4:35. Thursday will be a travel day for the teams as they return home to Philadelphia. Game three will be on Friday at 7:35 and game four will be Saturday at 7:45. If needed, game five will be at 2:37 on Sunday. If the Phightin’s can’t seal the deal by then, we would return to San Diego on Monday for a game six at 8:03. Game seven would be played Tuesday at 8:03 as well. As we’re all impatiently awaiting watching our team do their thing, we will keep “dancing on our own!”
Rachele Shea- Olde City Sports Network/ The Phanlot/ Flyers Alley
*Photo Credit: Philadelphia Phillies*