{"id":106062,"date":"2022-10-24T00:58:15","date_gmt":"2022-10-24T00:58:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/phillies-advance-to-world-series-beat-padres-in-nlcs-game-5\/"},"modified":"2022-10-24T00:58:15","modified_gmt":"2022-10-24T00:58:15","slug":"phillies-advance-to-world-series-beat-padres-in-nlcs-game-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/phillies-advance-to-world-series-beat-padres-in-nlcs-game-5\/","title":{"rendered":"Phillies advance to World Series, beat Padres in NLCS Game 5"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div class=\"wpds-c-grBDNq hide-for-print mb-sm undefined\">\n<div class=\"PJLV PJLV-iAjpuP-css flex items-center\" config=\"[object Object]\" data-qa=\"article-actions\">\n<div class=\"wpds-c-fLphcs\">\n<div class=\"wpds-c-jmLDag wpds-c-jmLDag-bywHgD-variant-primary wpds-c-jmLDag-biynoz-density-compact wpds-c-jmLDag-hZSyid-isOutline-true wpds-c-jmLDag-ejCoEP-icon-left wpds-c-jmLDag-futxca-cv wpds-c-jmLDag-iknmtxO-css\"><button aria-label=\"Comment\" class=\"PJLV PJLV-iPnDcc-css\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewbox=\"0 0 16 16\" fill=\"currentColor\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\" role=\"img\" class=\"wpds-c-kKAfCG wpds-c-efqEZa focus-highlight flex items-center justify-center brad-lg pointer transition-400 ease-in-out transition-colors\" aria-label=\"Comment on this story\"><title>Comment on this story<\/title><path d=\"M14 14V2H2v9.47h8.18L12.43 13ZM3 10.52V3h10v9.23l-2.5-1.66Z\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/p>\n<p>Comment<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"teaser-content grid-center\">\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">PHILADELPHIA \u2014 Into the cold and drizzle of a deep autumn Philadelphia evening there suddenly came a warm, heavenly glow that passed through Citizens Bank Park and its 45,485 ecstatic witnesses.  Flying through that mist, barely airborne long enough to get wet, was a rocket-launched baseball bound for the bleachers in left-center field.  On the earth below, Bryce Harper stood briefly to admire it, then dropped his bat, ducked his head and began the most satisfying 360-foot jog of his life.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">It was a two-run homer in the eighth inning of Game 5 of the National League Championship Series, and it sent the Philadelphia Phillies to a 4-3 victory over the San Diego Padres and a berth in the World Series, this franchise&#8217;s first since 2009. The Houston Astros or New York Yankees await.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">The blast was Harper&#8217;s fifth of the postseason.  At this point, he is as close to an approximation of 1928 Ruth or 1977 Reggie as baseball has seen in recent Octobers.  He is hitting .419 with a 1.351 on-base-plus-slugging percentage.  He is the center of the Phillies &#8216;universe, his gravity like that of a thousand suns.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">When lefty Ranger Su\u00e1rez retired Padres catcher Austin Nola on a flyball to right to end the top of the ninth \u2014 a hairy half-inning in which right-hander David Robertson was pulled after issuing back-to-back one-out walks \u2014 the Phillies threw their gloves in the air and converged at the center of the diamond to convene a victory party certain to rage deep into the night.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p><span class=\"font--article-body font-copy hide-for-print ma-0 pb-md db italic interstitial\">Svrluga: Bryce Harper lives for the spotlight.  Now he&#8217;s owning October.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">\u201cWe&#8217;ve got four more!\u201d  Harper shouted to a raucous crowd from the stage erected beyond second base, where he was presented the NLCS MVP trophy.  He was referring to the number of wins remaining to secure the championship.  \u201cWe&#8217;re going to bring this [expletive] home, boys!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">In the Phillies&#8217; victorious clubhouse, the first bottles of champagne were directed toward the ungoggled face of Manager Rob Thomson, who took over for the fired Joe Girardi in early June, when the team had a 22-29 record, and led them to a 65-46 record the rest of the way.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">\u201cIt&#8217;s special for me personally,\u201d said Thomson, a rookie major league manager but a veteran of 37 seasons in professional baseball.  \u201cBut there are so many guys on this club who had never even been to the playoffs [before this year].  \u2026 I&#8217;m probably more happy for them than for anybody else.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">Those 87 regular season wins were good enough for the Phillies to sneak into the postseason as the sixth seed \u2014 a prize that didn&#8217;t even exist until this year&#8217;s playoff expansion.  But they have transformed into a juggernaut in the postseason, blitzing three teams \u2014 the St.  Louis Cardinals, Atlanta Braves and now the Padres \u2014 that outpaced them collectively by 22 games in the regular season standings.  In three rounds, they are 9-2, including 5-0 at home.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">\u201cYou could see us grow together, always with the feeling that if we got in \u2026 we&#8217;d have a chance to contend,\u201d said President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski, who is looking for a third World Series title to go with the ones he won with the Florida Marlins in 1997 and the Boston Red Sox in 2018. \u201cOur stars have stepped up.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">The Phillies held a slim lead for much of the game, constructed upon Rhys Hoskins&#8217;s two-run homer in the third and six-plus outstanding innings from ace Zack Wheeler.  But carrying that lead home would prove a harrowing task, owing to the Padres&#8217; resilience and the deteriorating elements.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">Much of the game was played in a light rain and a steady wind, cloaking the downtown skyline in the distance in a spooky blanket of haze.  Beyond straightaway center, between the Stars and Stripes and a giant LED Liberty Bell that lights up after Phillies homers and wins, there were a pair of red flags flapping in the blustery wind \u2014 representing the only World Series titles in franchise history, from 1980 and 2008.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">But the rain picked up and the field grew muddy in the top of the seventh, when the Padres scored a pair of runs to seize a 3-2 lead.  The go-ahead run scored on the third wild pitch of the inning by Phillies reliever Seranthony Dom\u00ednguez \u2014 equalizing the number of wild pitches he threw in the entire regular season, spanning 51 innings.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">The tying run, charged to Wheeler, scored on an RBI by Padres designated hitter Josh Bell, who laced a double to right off Dom\u00ednguez.  Pinch runner Jos\u00e9 Azocar took third and then home on the second and third of Dom\u00ednguez&#8217;s wild pitches.  Suddenly, the Padres led by a run.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">Major League Baseball took a gamble by even attempting to play Sunday, with the forecast calling for light rain and a narrow window in which to cram a game.  Because the postseason schedule was condensed \u2014 fallout from the owners&#8217; lockout, which delayed the start of the season \u2014 the traditional travel day between Games 5 and 6 of the championship series was wiped out.  Had the Padres won Sunday, the teams would have reconvened in San Diego on Monday night.  A rainout Sunday would have thrown the rest of the postseason schedule into chaos.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">In a sense, Harper&#8217;s homer \u2014 on a 99-mph sinker from the Padres&#8217; Robert Suarez \u2014 took MLB off the hook for what was sure to be a much-scrutinized decision to play through the stiffer rain in the seventh inning.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">When Harper strode to the plate, with JT Realmuto on first base after a single, a strange calmness descended upon Citizens Bank Park, as if the outcome were preordained.  The Padres may have contributed to that sense by not bringing in relief ace Josh Hader, arguably the most unhittable reliever in the game, and sticking with Suarez, who was in his second inning of work.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">\u201cAt that point in time,\u201d Manager Bob Melvin said, \u201cI had confidence in Suarez.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">Harper, too, reacted like someone who had expected to do exactly what he did.  He has other celebrated big hits with wild gestures and howls, as he did after his second RBI double in Saturday night&#8217;s Game 4. Here, he looked into his dugout, pointed to the word scrawled across his chest \u2014 Phillies \u2014 and started his jog.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">\u201cNo matter who was on the mound, Number 3 is made for that type of moment,\u201d Hoskins said.  \u201cAnd he did it again.  None of us were surprised.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">Spring was miserable for the Phillies, who went two months without seeing the sunny side of .500 and got their manager fired.  Summer started with a roar and ended with a fizzle, the Phillies providing little evidence they could survive the postseason gantlet that awaited.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">But autumn?  Autumn has been incredible for these Phillies.  And thanks in large part to Harper&#8217;s scorching bat, it will stretch on a bit longer than anyone here could have imagined just a few weeks ago.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<section class=\"b bt bc-offblack dn-ns hide-for-print\" data-testid=\"mostRead\" subscriptions-section=\"content\"\/><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Comment on this story Comment PHILADELPHIA \u2014 Into the cold and drizzle of a deep autumn Philadelphia evening there suddenly came a warm, heavenly glow that passed through Citizens Bank Park and its 45,485 ecstatic witnesses. Flying through that mist, barely airborne long enough to get wet, was a rocket-launched baseball bound for the bleachers &hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"> <a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/phillies-advance-to-world-series-beat-padres-in-nlcs-game-5\/\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Phillies advance to World Series, beat Padres in NLCS Game 5<\/span> Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":98582,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/padres-eliminate-dodgers-advance-to-nlcs-for-1st-time-since-1998\/","url_meta":{"origin":106062,"position":0},"title":"Padres eliminate Dodgers, advance to NLCS for 1st time since 1998","date":"October 16, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"SAN DIEGO -- Jake Cronenworth hit a tiebreaking, two-run single with two outs in the seventh inning and the San Diego Padres rally past the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-3 Saturday night to advance to the NL Championship Series for the first time since 1998 .The Padres stunned the 111-win Dodgers\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sports&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":105850,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/phillies-win-nlcs-game-4-2022\/","url_meta":{"origin":106062,"position":1},"title":"Phillies win NLCS Game 4 2022","date":"October 23, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"PHILADELPHIA -- Something special is happening here. One more victory and the Phillies are going to the World Series. \u201cYou can't write it better for the guys in that room, for the staff, for everybody in this organization,\u201d Hoskins said. \u201cBut I think, most importantly, for the city. Yeah, you\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sports&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":100248,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/harper-machado-tangle-in-wild-card-nlcs-between-phils-pads\/","url_meta":{"origin":106062,"position":2},"title":"Harper, Machado tangle in wild-card NLCS between Phils, Pads","date":"October 18, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"SAN DIEGO (AP) \u2014 Either Bryce Harper or Manny Machado will be playing in the World Series this year.Harper's Philadelphia Phillies will face Machado's San Diego Padres in an all-wild card NL Championship Series starting Tuesday night at Petco Park. It's not exactly the matchup most fans would have predicted,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sports&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":105268,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/phillies-roar-back-vs-padres-in-nlcs-game-4-behind-rhys-hoskins-bryce-harper-seek-3-1-advantage\/","url_meta":{"origin":106062,"position":3},"title":"Phillies roar back vs.  Padres in NLCS Game 4 behind Rhys Hoskins, Bryce Harper, seek 3-1 advantage","date":"October 23, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"The Philadelphia Phillies roll into NLCS Game 4 with a 2-1 series lead over the San Diego Padres and a home crowd timelessly thirsting for the chance to clinch the pennant in Sunday's Game 5. Friday night's Game 3 win encapsulated so much about the Phillies' often bizarre, never boring\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sports&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":104202,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/padres-phillies-pitching-plans-for-remainder-of-2022-nlcs\/","url_meta":{"origin":106062,"position":4},"title":"Padres, Phillies pitching plans for remainder of 2022 NLCS","date":"October 21, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"PHILADELPHIA -- Both the Padres and Phillies entered this year's National League Championship Series with their rotations lined up perfectly -- but that doesn't mean there won't be some tough decisions in the days ahead. In a typical best-of-seven series, a club's Game 3 starter is available to start a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sports&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":105272,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/phillies-roar-back-vs-padres-in-nlcs-game-4-behind-rhys-hoskins-bryce-harper-seek-3-1-advantage-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":106062,"position":5},"title":"Phillies roar back vs.  Padres in NLCS Game 4 behind Rhys Hoskins, Bryce Harper, seek 3-1 advantage","date":"October 23, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"The Philadelphia Phillies roll into NLCS Game 4 with a 2-1 series lead over the San Diego Padres and a home crowd timelessly thirsting for the chance to clinch the pennant in Sunday's Game 5. Friday night's Game 3 win encapsulated so much about the Phillies' often bizarre, never boring\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sports&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/wp-apps\/imrs.php?src=https:\/\/arc-anglerfish-washpost-prod-washpost.s3.amazonaws.com\/public\/JT6HZC2VCNB2ZE5OEAYFRFZCQQ.jpg&w=1440","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106062"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=106062"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106062\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=106062"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=106062"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=106062"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}