Christmas is just days away and Phillies fans will not be receiving any new shiny free agents in their stockings this year. With the MLB frozen by the evil Jack Frost… and the MLB vs MLBPA, there is not much excitement to go around during the holidays this season.
While the Phils may not be opening gifts this December, they already celebrated Christmas for the year. On July 25th, known as “Christmas in July,” the Phillies took on the future world series champion Atlanta Braves on a Sunday afternoon. Aaron Nola took the ball for the club in this one and like Santa’s elves, he went to work. Nola was on the naughty list of the Braves hitters that day because he was absolutely dominant.
Aaron Nola pitched 8.2 innings allowing 1 earned run on 4 hits. He paired that with 9 strikeouts on the afternoon. Nola’s only run allowed came with two outs in the ninth as Braves’ third basemen Austin Riley took him deep to make it a 2-1 ballgame. Ranger Suarez, who was the gift that kept on giving this season, came in and got the 1 out save to knock off Atlanta.
The Phillies offense was as quiet as Santa’s sleigh sliding across rooftops on Christmas in July. Two runs on hits would do the job and thanks to solo home runs from Jean Segura and Ronald Torreyes, the Phillies would be gifted a win on Christmas.
While the rest of the season was less than merry and bright, the Phillies had their moments in 2021. A win on Christmas is all the fans have left this holiday season. Let’s hope that Rob Manfred and Major League Baseball can get off the naughty list soon and bring back baseball for us all. For now, our beloved friend the Phillie Phanatic will continue to bring us holiday cheer.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone!
Photo by John Jones/Icon Sportswire
