*Photo from Talking Chop*
The National League playoff field is now set, the only matchup to be determined being who will win the NL West and who gets stuck in the wild card game. Because one more team has punched their ticket. Austin Riley homered, Ozzie Albies tripled, and the Atlanta Braves defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 5-3 on Thursday night.
The win gives Atlanta their 6th straight win, and also they officially clinched the NL East, winning their 4th straight division title, dating back to 2018, when this same core was much younger. They've locked themselves in as the number 3 seed in the NL playoff picture, and will face the Milwaukee Brewers in the NLDS, beginning on October 8 in Milwaukee.
Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman talked about winning the division title 4 years in a row, saying that "4 in a row is hard. I can’t imagine those 1990s teams and how they did all that. This is a great feeling. This is right up there with 2018 for me. This year had so many ups and downs and so many things could have derailed the season."
Jorge Soler got the Braves fired up early, with a solo home run to center field, giving Atlanta a 1-0 lead right out of the gates. In the 4th inning, Riley's solo home run made it 2-0, and Dansby Swanson added an RBI double to lengthen the lead to 3-0 after 4 innings. In the 5th inning, an RBI triple by Albies and an RBI single from Riley upped it to 5-0. That was when the Phillies started to inch back.
In the 7th inning, Andrew McCutchen got the Phillies on the board, cranking a two run home run to left field, making it a 5-2 game in favor of the Braves. In the 8th inning, JT Realmuto joined the party, adding a solo home run of his own, trimming the deficit to a 5-3 score, two runs down. Unfortunately for the Phillies, that was all they could manage.
The road to the title for the Braves this year was not as easy as in years past. They lost big bopper Marcell Ozuna when he got arrested for domestic violence in May. Ace Mike Soroka never threw a pitch thanks to multiple injuries. Superstar outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr tore his ACL. Catcher Travis D'Arnaud and starter Ian Anderson each endured long IL stints, but thanks to buying at the deadline, a revamped team has the Braves back in the playoffs.
Swanson talked about the rocky road this season, saying that "I feel like I’ve never been part of a season that never had as much adversity as this one. But I think that’s a good characteristic for this team, to be able to battle and fight for everything. I feel like we’ve earned every bit of what we have this year."
It was Anderson who got the win for the Braves, improving to 9-5 this season after allowing two runs on 3 hits and 3 walks, striking out two hitters in 6+ innings, getting knocked out after the McCutchen homer in the 7th. AJ Minter and Luke Jackson held things down, despite Jackson giving up a run, and Will Smith saved his 37th game of the season to secure the division title.
Kyle Gibson got hit hard in a loss for the Phillies, dropping to 10-9 this season. Gibson was responsible for all 5 runs on 4 hits and two walks, fanning 8 hitters but lasting just 4 1/3 innings. Connor Brogdon pitched 1 2/3 innings of scoreless work in relief of Gibson, followed by Jose Alvarado and Sam Coonrod each throwing another inning.
The loss also officially eliminates the Phillies from playoff contention, although they had been looking like long shots at the beginning of the week. It's another in a long line of disappointing seasons for the Phillies, who had world series ambitions at the start of the season, only to have their bullpen blow upwards of 30 saves this season.
Phillies manager Joe Girardi said "I feel like I failed. Getting us to where we wanted to get to. I always take responsibility, full responsibility. I failed, and it’s a really empty feeling. Because there’s a lot of time that goes into this and a lot of work. It stinks. It hurts. We’ve been going at this really since the last day of last year, you know? From a mental standpoint, from a physical standpoint, and it hurts. We’ve got to get better. That’s the bottom line. We need to break this."
The Braves start a series with the New York Mets on Friday, with Huascar Ynoa starting the series opening game. The Phillies face the Miami Marlins on Friday, with Girardi tabbing Ranger Suarez as the starter.
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