PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Bryce Harper broke up the Phillies’ playoff party on the mound and led his team to where the real fun was about to begin for the National League champions.
“Come on, let’s go inside!” Let’s go!” he commanded.
With that, Harper walked over to the dugout and raised her arms in jubilation at the sound of Phillies fans shouting “MV3!” MV3! The Phillies rushed inside for the Broad Street Bubbly waiting in the clubhouse.
Harper made the scene possible because he reached the moment Philly demanded from when he signed the richest free agent contract in baseball history. Harper made the monumental feat of hitting baseball so easy in the playoffs and with the NL pennant on the line, he delivered the defining moment of his four-year Philadelphia career.
Harper hit his fifth playoff homer, an eighth-inning two-run outburst that turned Citizens Bank Park into a madhouse, and the $330 million slugger propelled the Phillies past the San Diego Padres 4-3 Sunday and in the World Series for the first time since 2009.
A swing. A shot in opposite field. A game-winning home run that seemed pretty much destined from the moment it hit home plate in the eighth inning with the Phillies and their fans beckoning Bryce to deliver in the clutch once more.
“I hit the ball, and I just looked at my dugout and it’s kind of for all of them,” Harper said. “It’s for this whole team. It’s for this whole organization.”
Rhys Hoskins also hit a two-run homer in Game 5 of the NL Championship Series to spark Philadelphia’s unlikely run to the pennant and a shot at its first World Series championship since 2008.
Harper, Hoskins & Crew come for a most unlikely World Series championship.
Houston held a 3-0 lead over the New York Yankees in the ALCS. Game 4 will take place Sunday night in New York. The World Series kicks off Friday night at the home of the AL champion.
Harper was named NLCS MVP and he parked the trophy on a dais, he made it clear that personal awards meant nothing to him without a ring.
“I kinda don’t care, but MLB is forcing me to do it,” Harper said.
Philadelphia trailed 3-2 when JT Realmuto started the eighth with only one reliever Robert Suarez. Harper then lined up a 2-2, 98 mph lead in the opposite direction, into the left field seats as another sold-out crowd of 45,485 rocked the stadium.
Harper hoped the Tour would set the stage for more on-deck highlights over the next two weeks.
“We have four more,” the two-time NL MVP told fans during an on-court celebration, and they roared again.
Left-hander Harper connected with a right-hander — the Padres had closer left-hander Josh Hader warming up in the bullpen, but didn’t bring him in.
“It’s an idea at this point, but it wasn’t what we thought,” Padres manager Bob Melvin said. “We were trying to get to the four-out position for Hader, and we had a lot of confidence in Suarez.”
The Phillies felt the same way about Harper.
“Pure chaos, isn’t it?” I don’t think anyone was surprised,” Hoskins said. “This guy has a knack for riding in the biggest moments. That’s just what he’s done his entire career, and we’ve seen it many times.
Also remember: When Harper’s thumb was broken by a San Diego Blake Snell pitch in late June, there were fears he wouldn’t return this season.
Instead, the star who signed a 13-year contract to play in Philadelphia has delivered — this season, in this game.
Even after Harper’s home run put them ahead, it wasn’t an easy end for the Phillies.
Reliever David Robertson was called out after two walks in the ninth. Ranger Suárez made his first relief appearance of the season and retired Trent Grisham on a bunt and got Austin Nola – brother of Phils ace Aaron Nola – on a routine fly to finish him off for a huge save.
The Phillie Phanatic waved a National League champions flag as the “Dancing On My Own” post-season banger sounded throughout the stadium. Alec Bohm and Nick Castellanos took off their shirts and danced around the clubhouse. Cigars were rented. Cheap beer was sprayed. The booze puddles on the carpet got deeper than those caused by rain in a sloppy, gusty Game 5.
Philadelphia, get ready.
These sixth-seeded Phillies — yes, that’s a thing this season — feel like they’re just getting started.
Harper, who turned 30 last week, is batting 439 (18 for 41) with six doubles, five home runs, 11 RBIs and 10 runs scored in 11 playoff games. He hit 10 straight times and reached base 11 straight times.
And the fearsome designated hitter can keep those streaks alive when he plays in his first World Series.
“To some degree he’s been overlooked because of who he is and the star he is,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “He’s a guy who is a big star delivered. I can’t say enough about that.
Philadelphia finished third in the NL East at 87-75, 14 games behind the Braves who have won 101 this season, and was the last Majors club to advance to the 12-team playoffs. After a 2-0 sweep of NL champion Central St. Louis in MLB’s new round of wild cards, the Phillies needed just four games to eliminate defending World Series champions Atlanta.
Now they will try to become the first team to finish in third place to win a World Series.
The Padres took a 3-2 lead in a sloppy seventh inning as rain battered Citizens Bank Park and turned parts of the infield, especially around third base, into a mud pit.
But it was Phillies reliever Seranthony Dominguez’s slippery catch that nearly cost the Phillies dearly.
Starter Zack Wheeler was fantastic again and struck out eight in six innings. He was lifted with a 2-1 lead after Jake Cronenworth’s first single in the seventh.
Dominguez couldn’t find his feel with the ball as the rain picked up, puddles formed near third base and the inside dirt turned to mush. He threw a wild pitch and Josh Bell lined up an equal right RBI double that made it 2-1.
Dominguz then threw two more wild pitches that sent pinch runner Jose Azocar home to take a 3-2 lead. The right-handed reliever threw just three wild pitches in 51 innings all season — then uncorked three in the seventh.
Things got tense in Philadelphia.
But they still had Harper in their back pocket as a lucky charm.
“Harper had a massive time there,” Padres slugger Manny Machado said. “Just tip your hat.”
Hoskins, Harper and Wheeler left a mark of indelible moments at Citizens Bank as they improved to 5-0 at home, where they will play World Series Games 3, 4 and 5.
Game 5 of the NLCS was no exception.
The Phillies took a break in the third when NL home run champion Kyle Schwarber was called on a two-out stolen base attempt. The call was canceled on the replay and the Phillies were given new life.
Hoskins, who came on to hit a quite memorable .171, smashed one into the left field seats of starter Yu Darvish as the crowd went wild. He hopped down the line, saying a few words to his teammates in the dugout and twirling his bat – much like the regularly spinning rally towels – as he gave them a 2- 0.
Wheeler gave up Soto’s solo homer in the inning that made it 2-1. Padres pitcher Joe Musgrove took a Polaroid photo of Soto in the dugout.
Despite their best efforts, the Padres weren’t ready for their big plan.
The Phillies were perfect. Second baseman Jean Segura made his way into the infield as the rest of the Phillies sat near the mound, took off on a running start and slipped headfirst into the photo. crew.
Then it was time to party.
Harper demanded it.
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