PHILADELPHIA- After a ten-run comeback victory over San Diego, the Phillies are just one win shy of advancing to the World Series.
As surreal as it sounds, the Phillies are dangerously close to becoming the fourteenth Wild Card team ever to reach the World Series.
All year, the team has found ways to grind out together wins and tonight was no different.
Phillies Playoff Jitters
In Game 4, the Phillies found themselves in an early deficit. Rookie Bailey Falter, the Phillies starter this game, got rocked in limited action.
Falter, who has been a pleasant surprise this season, gave up four runs in just 2/3 innings pitched in his playoff debut.
The team planned for him to toss at least three innings, but the lefty hurler was pulled after less than an inning of work.
Comeback Szn
Facing a four-run deficit before they even stepped to the plate, the Phillies batters wasted no time getting the team back in the ballgame.
After a leadoff single by Kyle Schwarber, Rhys Hoskins blasted a two-run home run to left field to cut the lead in half.
“We knew we still had 27 outs to work with,” Rhys Hoskins said of the early deficit. “We hadn’t even bat yet so we had time.”
A few at-bats later, Bryce Harper plated a run with an RBI double to cut the lead to a lone run.
Trading blows
After clawing their way back into a tie game, the Phillies found themselves down once again in the fifth inning when Juan Soto hit a monstrous home run off Phils reliever Brad Hand.
The homer took a bit of life out of the stadium momentarily before the Phillies’ offense came storming back.
Rhys Hoskins delivered in a big way yet again, delivering his second two-run home run of the night to tie the game at six runs. It would be the last time the Phillies trailed or were tied in this game.
Insurance Runs
Kyle Schwarber and J.T. Realmuto joined in on the fun, each hitting a solo home run in the latter innings to extend the Phillies’ lead.
“We knew it was going to be a dogfight coming to into this game,” J.T. Realmuto said in a postgame interview with MLB Network. “Both offenses had been playing well. We just put together some good at-bats and came out on top.”
A dogfight would be the perfect way to describe what resulted as a 10-6 slugfest. With a shot at the World Series on the line, both teams came out swinging. Ultimately, it was the Phillies who were able to connect the heaviest blows.
Not done yet
“That’s been this club all year. They are resilient..they keep fighting,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said.
Now, due to their gutsy win tonight, the Phillies find themselves just one win removed from the World Series. First pitch for Game 5 is scheduled for 2:37pm on Sunday afternoon in South Philly.
Photo Credit: AP Photo/Matt Slocum
