5:36 PM ET
Associated Press
PHILADELPHIA -- Brandon Marsh deed a three-run homer and J.T. Realmuto lined an inside-the-park location tally that sent the Philadelphia Phillies bolting headfirst into the NL Championship Series for the archetypal clip since 2010 with an 8-3 triumph implicit the Atlanta Braves successful Game 4 Saturday.
Realmuto became the archetypal catcher to deed an inside-the-parker successful postseason past and Bryce Harper punctuated the romp with a clinching location tally that helped the Phillies instrumentality the NL Division Series 3-1 against the World Series champion Braves.
The Phillies volition look either San Diego oregon the Los Angeles Dodgers successful the NLCS. The Padres held a 2-1 pb implicit the Dodgers going into Game 4 of the NLDS matchup Saturday night.
Atlanta's nonaccomplishment meant Major League Baseball hasn't had a repetition champ since the New York Yankees won 3 consecutive from 1998-2000.
Philadelphia finished 3rd successful the NL East, 14 games down the 101-win Braves this season, but present is hitting connected each cylinders nether manager Rob Thomson. He took implicit for the fired Joe Girardi and transformed a squad that was 22-29 successful aboriginal June.
And the Phillies utilized a dose of Marsh Madness to support the enactment rolling successful October.
Heck, telephone it Mash Madness, arsenic the Phillies turned Citizens Bank Park into a cozy location bandbox for the 2nd consecutive crippled -- and with different fired-up, towel-waving assemblage on for each agelong ball.
After Rhys Hoskins spiked his bat connected a three-run changeable successful a Game 3 win, it was Marsh's crook successful the 2nd inning to hammer his ain three-run homer successful Game 4.
Braves starter Charlie Morton was deed connected his pitching elbow by Alec Bohm's azygous traveling 71.9 mph to pb disconnected the inning. After being checked, Morton allowed a azygous to Jean Segura and hung a 2-2 curveball that the No. 9 hitter Marsh launched heavy into the close tract seats for a 3-0 lead.
The 24-year-old Marsh is known arsenic overmuch for his stringy hairsbreadth and ZZ Top-esque beard arsenic helium is for being 1 of the apical young players connected the Phillies. Marsh, who besides doubled successful the fourth, was acquired from the Los Angeles Angels successful August conscionable up of this season's commercialized deadline. Phillies President Dave Dombrowski swung different deadline woody with the Angels that got them Game 4 starter Noah Syndergaard, besides known for his agelong locks.
Hey, it volition beryllium casual for the Phillies to fto their hairsbreadth down and party.
Reliever Brad Hand was 1 of six Philadelphia pitchers and got the win.
Syndergaard, bumped from the rotation astatine the extremity of the season, wasn't asked by Thomson to bash overmuch different than support the Phillies successful the game. Maybe spell unscathed erstwhile astir the bid . Syndergaard delivered with 3 strikeouts successful 3 innings successful a little throwback to his commanding "Thor" days with the New York Mets.
Orlando Arcia deed a solo changeable disconnected him successful the 3rd to marque it 3-1.
Realmuto past hustled his mode into postseason history.
He connected to pb disconnected the 3rd inning against reliever Collin McHugh. The shot deed the angled information of the partition beyond the scope of halfway fielder Michael Harris II, and the carom rolled on the informing way toward right-center. Ronald Acuña Jr. stood successful close tract watching the play, and didn't commencement moving toward the shot until Realmuto was good past archetypal base. Realmuto, who runs highly good for a catcher, made a headfirst descent into the plate, good up of the relay.
With that, it was bedlam wrong the park, arsenic a sellout assemblage of 45,660 was deliriously cheering, each consciousness tingling that determination wasn't going to beryllium a Game 5.
Nope. Just Game 3 of the NLCS backmost successful Philly connected Friday.
Harper deed a solo homer successful the eighth, the 2nd of the bid for the reigning NL MVP.
It seemed fitting the trio of Phillies sluggers that signifier the bosom of the franchise enactment the crippled distant successful the sixth. Hoskins-Realmuto-Harper each had RBI singles that made it 7-2 and a bid clinch a specified formality.
The Phillies trotted retired 2008 World Series champion Pat Burrell to propulsion the archetypal transportation aft his teammate from '08 Shane Victorino did the aforesaid earlier Game 3. The Phillies tally of 5 consecutive postseason appearances -- that included the 2009 NL pennant -- stretched from 2007 to 2011 until the franchise was saddled with truthful galore adust years without hope. They nary longer person to look astatine Burrell, Victorino and different members of that tally arsenic the lone reminders of postseason stars -- Harper, Hoskins, Realmuto, Marsh person carved their ain October marks, with astatine slightest 1 much bid ahead.
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