Celebrations break out across Philadelphia after Phillies clinch World Series berth; Jill Biden reps jersey at White House
Phillies #Phillies
First Lady Jill Biden sports her Phillies jersey at White House
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Police moving the crowd down Broad Street
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Phillies could learn their World Series opponent tonight
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Following a rain delay that lasted around an hour and 40 minutes, Game 4 of the American League Championship Series between the Houston Astros and New York Yankees got underway at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx shortly before 9 p.m. — and it looks like according to Weather.com, they should be able to get the game in.
That means, that with the Astros leading the series, 3-0, the Phillies could find out who they’ll face in the World Series as soon as tonight (or early Monday morning), if Houston wins, of course.
If not, the series will resume with Game 5 on Monday night in New York at 5:07 p.m. on TBS.
No matter who the opponent, the first game of the World Series won’t start until Friday night.
— Matt Mullin
Zack Wheeler: We’ve always called Bryce Harper ‘The Showman’
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‘That’s why Harper is your daddy’
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An impromptu batting cage erupted amid thousands of whooting fans at Frankford and Cottman, with kids and adults taking swings at underhand pitches into the crowd. Pat Burger, 30, jumped into the hitter’s box wearing an Eagles jersey and a giant Swoop mascot headpiece. The crowd roared as he readied his bat.
To Burger, who rallied at this very intersection when the Birds won the Super Bowl in 2018, tonight’s pennant-clinching win was about more than the Phillies.
It was about the soul of the city. It was about every team — doomed or destined as they may be.
“A few weeks ago, Philly was only known as the murder capitol of the world,” Burger said.
“Look at us now,” he said, gesturing to the thousands of throbbing fans. “Sports is what keeps us together.”
A young fan came up to Burger after he took his swing in the makeshift batting cage. He wanted to take a picture with “Swoop.” Of course, Burger said. And the two smiled for the cameras.
Bryce Harper’s game-winning home run was a hot topic among the massive crowd at Frankford and Cottman, and there was no shortage of trash talk toward the Padres, whose season ended tonight with a 2,700-mile flight home to Southern California.
Bridget Joyce — rocking a black mustache and a sexually suggestive sign about the Padres — praised Harper for the big homer.
“That’s why Harper is your daddy,” Joyce said. “We are your daddies. Can you put that on the internet?”
— Max Marin
Phillies jersey will have a new patch
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Philly Elmo joins the party outside City Hall
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The partying was going on hard outside City Hall, where people were chugging liquor bottles, doing the worm, and men in suits partied it up with fans in every Philly sports team jersey imaginable.
At one point, the crowd circled around trombone player, but drum beats soon stole their attention. A man parted the crowd and a drum line marched through. Picking up the rear was Philly Elmo. The party was officially underway.
— Stephanie Farr
Photos: Pole climbers and ‘Dancing On My Own’ after Phillies’ big win
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‘An oasis in the desert’
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The Dolphin nightclub was closed Sunday but the party carried on at the corner of Broad and Tasker. At least 100 revelers marked the corners of the intersection, a sea of red high fiving slow moving drivers who didn’t seem to mind the congestion and joined in on the fun, taking videos with the crowd.
A man with his young son asked Larry Mangiola, 67, and lifelong Philadelphian standing in the periphery of the action if he’s a Phillies fan. Mangiola confirmed his allegiance with a nod.
“And everybody loves a winner,” he added.
Mangiola said he’s been lucky to witness the Phillies, Eagles, Flyers and Sixers win championships before. But this Phillies run comes at a time the city is in need of a bit of joy given the challenges it’s facing, including unrelenting gun violence.
“The City is not doing too good right now,” he said. “We’re very lucky, this is an oasis in the desert.”
— Ximena Conde
Bryce Harper on Phillies fans: ‘They just want you to grind for them’
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Alex Bohm: ‘I love this place’
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After a series of errors earlier in the season led to Alec Bohm being caught on camera saying he “[bleeping] hates this place” in reference to Philadelphia, things could’ve gone a multitude of ways.
Instead of it spiraling out of control and causing Bohm to become a villain in his own city, the Phillies third baseman embraced his mistake, apologized, and took the heat in the moment.
But as the year went on and the Phillies’ playoff chances improved, Bohm’s gaffe became a thing of the past. But he didn’t forget, and after clinching a World Series berth, he had a new message for Phillies fans.
It doesn’t get much better than that.
— Matt Mullin
‘It’s the happiest day of our lives’
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After Harper’s almost-too-clutch-to-be-real homer in the bottom of the eighth, the 45,485 fans packed into Citizens Bank Park were holding their breath for the final three outs, hanging on every pitch.
“It was like watching the person you love most diffuse a bomb,” said Gary Clemson, who came to game from Tamaqua with his son, Bradley. They stood in the concourse in right field at the same place they stood during a late-season game in 2008, just before the Phillies last won a World Series.
And then, on a shallow pop-up, the Fightins clinched a berth.
“It’s the happiest day of our lives,” Clemson said.
Mass euphoria rippled through the stadium. Couples kissed. Fans of every size, age, and gender were reduced to tears. Happy screams came from the bathrooms. Hoarse voices belted out “Dancing On My Own.” Strangers hugged and chanted “MVP” as Harper – a newly minted Philadelphian who speaks like one – vowed to “bring the sh– home!”
“The city’s been really low lately, so this has been a big thing for us,” said Brian Kracyla, who lives in South Philadelphia and stood overlooking the outfield, mouth agape, in the moments after the final out.
He gave a bear hug to Mike Hewitt, of Delaware, who was born just hours after the Phillies won the 1980 World Series.
“Out of body experience,” he said. And he offered a World Series prediction: “Phils in five!”
And just feet away from Hewitt stood Tony Conner and Allison Mastasee, also of Delaware. They, too, invoked the 1980 World Series – Mastasee was sporting a faded red Phillies cap that she wore during that run, 42 years ago.
She obviously plans to wear it as the Phillies vie for the biggest prize in baseball.
“Now I have to,” she said. “Magic.”
— Anna Orso
Monday’s Daily News cover
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Phillies party in the clubhouse after clinching World Series berth
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There were a lot of people responsible for getting the Phillies to the World Series, but perhaps none more than Rob Thomson, who took over earlier in the season for Joe Girardi, turned this team around, and now has them playing in the World Series.
So it was appropriate, then, that the man they call “Topper” was the first to take get a champagne shower.
And, of course, next on the checklist for the Phillies was a pennant-winning version of “Dancing On My Own,” which has become the team’s postseason anthem — even though they’ve been using it long before October started.
And from there, it was a free for all, with no player left dry
This is just the beginning. We’ll have more from the clubhouse throughout the night.
— Matt Mullin
Celebrations breaking out across Philadelphia
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So much for greased poles…
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So much for the greased poles. It didn’t take long for fans to make their up the lights posts on the Avenue of the Arts in Philadelphia.
Meanwhile, some fans joined in a chorus of “Dancing On My Own,” which has become the Phillies postseason anthem.
It looks like the celebration has begun in earnest around Philadelphia — and this is just for reaching the World Series.
—Matt Mullin
While Philly heads to Broad Street, the Phillies get down
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See the Phillies win from all angles
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—David Maialetti, Charles Fox, Yong Kim, Tom Gralish
‘I love to see Philadelphians happy’
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As soon as the game was over, residents of the 800 block of Wharton Street burst into cheers.
”We’re talkin’ about the fightins!” shouted a man out of his window.
”We’re going to the World Series!” said another bursting out his front door. ”Let’s go!”
Boomed distant voices from honking cars.
Elizabeth Fiend, 64, and her husband Allen, 66, started the chants on the block. Elizabeth sported a fuzzy Phanatic hat, which she waived in the air as people clapped.
”I love it because I love to see Philadelphians happy,” she said, before quickly excusing herself. The couple was going to chase the sounds of cars playing the “Dancing On My Own” remix, now a Phillies anthem, all the way to City Hall.
At Broad and Wharton, a gas station turned into a Sunday night party corner.
Children on the shoulders of their parents, cheering passersby and SEPTA buses, the occasional firework punctuating the hoarse and high pitched stream of cheers.
Alicia and John Walker walked to the Lukoil with their 8 month old son.
”He woke up just in time to see Bryce Harper’s home run,” said proud father and lifelong fan John, who described this as a wonderful time to be a Philadelphia sports fan.
”He doesn’t know the misery yet,” he joked.
As more people walked in the direction of City Hall, one woman asked her companion, “Can you imagine if we win [the World Series]?”
—Ximena Conde
What it felt to be at Citizens Bank Park
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—Anna Orso
Bryce Harper was the man for the Phillies in Game 5
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Go ahead and pinch yourself.
After winning 87 games in the regular season and claiming the sixth and final playoff berth in the National League, the Phillies swept the St. Louis Cardinals in the best-of-three wild-card round, blitzed the 101-win Atlanta Braves in the best-of-five divisional round, and ousted the upstart San Diego Padres, four games to one, in the best-of-seven NL Championship Series.
They did it through a steady rain that muddied the field in the late innings. They overcame three wild pitches in the seventh inning by reliever Seranthony Dominguez, who threw three wild pitches all season long. They leaned on ace Zack Wheeler and got another two-run homer from scorching-hot Hoskins. They asked starter Ranger Suárez to close out the game when David Robertson was unable to get the last two outs.
But when it mattered most, the Phillies turned to their $330 million man.
And he didn’t disappoint.
Harper never disappoints.
Bryce Harper’s homer lifts Phillies past Padres and on to the World Series
— Scott Lauber
Here’s how to land Phillies World Series tickets
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If you get lucky (or have money to burn), you can land tickets to the Phillies first World Series appearance in 13 years.
The Phillies haven’t set starting selling World Series tickets to the three games scheduled at Citizens Bank Park, but you can register for the opportunity to purchase tickets.
Registration ends on Tuesday, Oct. 25 at 11:59 p.m. The Phillies say they’ll notify the winners via email by Saturday, Oct. 29, who will have an opportunity to purchase World Series tickets. Tickets will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis.
Otherwise, you’ll have to try your luck outside Citizens Bank Park prior to Game 3 on Monday, Oct. 31, or keep an eye on the secondary market. As of Sunday evening, there were no tickets for sale on StubHub, Seat Geek, or Vivid Seats.
The earliest the Phillies will know who they’re facing would be tonight. If the Astros defeat the New York Yankees, Game 1 and Game 2 will take place at Minute Maid Park in Houston. So far, the Astros have yet to place any tickets for sale.
Phillies World Series: Schedule, tickets, opponent, and everything else you need to know
— Rob Tornoe
Flyers fans react to Phillies advancing to the World Series
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The Phillies are heading to the World Series
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Thanks to Bryce Harper’s eighth inning go-ahead home run, the Phillies are headed back to their first World Series since 2009. David Robertson got the save for Philadelphia.
Keep it locked right here for live updates throughout the night from the club house to Broad Street to Cottman and Frankford.
— Matt Mullin
Bryce Harper home run puts Phillies back ahead
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Whose house?
Bryce’s house.
Bryce Harper, the best hitter on the planet right now, launched a two-run, go-ahead homer in the bottom of the eighth inning that gave the Phillies a 4-3 lead and left them three outs from their first World Series berth in 13 years.
If the Phillies win Game 5 and the best-of-seven series, Harper is a shoo-in for NLCS MVP.
— Marcus Hayes
Bryson Stott double chases Yu Darvish from game
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Like Phillies starter Zack Wheeler, Yu Darvish lasted just one batter into the seventh inning, allowing a leadoff double to Bryson Stott. Darvish, allowed two runs on four hits and is responsible for the runner on second, was replaced by righty Robert Suarez.
— Matt Mullin
Weather played a factor in Dominguez’s ugly seventh inning
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Rain, man.
Seranthony Dominguez replaced Zack Wheeler with a man on first and none out in the seventh, and, to the Phillies’ misfortune, the misty rain present all game long started coming down harder. Dominguez uncorked four uncatchable pitches in the inning and the Padres scored two runs.
The first sent a runner from first to second, where he scored easily on a hard-hit double. The second hurt nothing, but the third sent a runner from second to third. The fourth scored that runner. Padres lead, 3-2, as we stretch for the seventh.
— Marcus Hayes
Grounds crew working hard to keep Game 5 on track
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San Diego takes lead on wild pitch as weather worsens
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It’s hard to say the weather didn’t play a factor in the top of the seventh inning, when the Padres scored a pair of runs to take a 3-2 lead over the Phillies. Seranthony Dominguez, who had thrown three wild pitches all season, threw three in one inning, allowing pinch runner Jose Azocar to go from second to third, and then eventually score the go-ahead run.
We head to the stretch with the Phillies in need of a comeback if they hope to clinch the series at home.
— Matt Mullin
Padres tie game in seventh inning after Wheeler is lifted
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After a dominant start, Zack Wheeler was relieved by Seranthony Domínguez at the top of the seventh.
Wheeler threw six innings, where he allowed three hits, two runs, and had eight strikeouts. He commanded the strike zone with his fastball and contained the Padres best hitters at bat. He finished his first postseason start at Citizens Bank Park after throwing 87 pitches.
Unfortunately, after allowing a leadoff single in the seventh, he was lifted from the game, and Dominguez then allowed a game-tying double to Josh Bell.
— Isabella DiAmore
Memories, poetry, and instant friends at CBP as rain falls
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Mike Phillips and Butch Adamo had never met before Sunday, but they could have fooled anyone.
The Phils fans parked near the outfield stands bonded over their outfits — Phillips in blue lounge pants; Adamo in a red sweatsuit — and shared love for the Phillies.
”We’re 100% sure they’re going to World Series,” said Phillips, of Port Richmond. He’s a retired beer man who worked at the park until 2012, and was in the stands slinging brews for both World Series runs in 2008 and 2009.
”The memories are so great,” he said. “It’s happening again.”
Adamo, who also goes by “Butch from Manayunk,” said he has been to 78 home games this year and described himself as “pretty much like a legend around this park.”
His schtick is that he writes poems and songs about the Phillies. He sang one Sunday called “Underdogs” that he performed to the tune of Jingle Bells (“I ain’t got a good voice, but anybody can do Jingle Bells.”)
Another, more simple poem, he wrote ahead of the game:
With the Padres, it’s all about religionBut when you came to Philly, you made a bad decision
Poetry, indeed.
—Anna Orso
Wheeler shines even as his pitch count rises
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Update: Never mind.
Was this Zack Wheeler’s finest moment of the postseason?
Game 5, sitting on 70 pitches, having given up a homer to Juan Soto in the fourth, with his fastball velocity down 4-5 mph from the first inning, Wheeler came out for the sixth, and a third trip through the Padres’ order. He got Jurickson Profar to foul out to third, struck out Soto on a garbage curveball that Soto never should have swung at, then froze Manny Machado with a wicked slider down in the strike zone.
Co-closers Jose Alvrado and Seranthony Dominguez didn’t pitch in Game 4, but Wheeler stole another inning for a bullpen that had to support Bailey Falter for 8 1/2 innings Saturday night.
—Marcus Hayes
‘Top Gun’ star Miles Teller hits the highway to the Danger Zone with the Phanatic
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Phillies super fan, Downingtown native and Top Gun: Maverick star Miles Teller got down with the Phanatic to the OG Top Gun Kenny Loggins classic.
He’s no Jason Kelce but…
Listen: Scott Frankze’s call of Rhys Hoskins’ home run
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The bullpen stirs as Wheeler’s pitch count rises
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Will Zack Wheeler pitch the sixth inning? There is stirring in the Phillies’ bullpen. Wheeler’s fastball velocity is down 3-4 mph from the 99 he hit early in the game. He’s at 70 pitches, and he admitted fatigue in Game 1 at 83 pitches. He’d have to go through the top of the Padres’ lineup a third time, including Juan Soto, who homered off him in the fourth. It’s 2-1 Phillies. Jose Alvarado and Seranthony Dominguez didn’t pitch in Game 4, so they’re fresh.Heavy hangs the head that wears the crown, Rob Thomson.
—Marcus Hayes
Fans at CBP Sunday say it feels like ‘08 again: ‘Might feel even better’
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Jamie Pagliei was here at Citizens Bank Park in 2008 for game five of the World Series. And he was here again on Sunday — game five of the NLCS with his Phils fighting for a World Series berth.
”There’s even more electricity now,” said Pagliei, of Ridley, who has business cards that say he is “the Philly sports guy.” He paints his face for every game he attends and on Sunday was sporting a blue mohawk.
“I do this for all the Philadelphia sports.”
Pagliei was one of many fans who on Sunday at the park invoked 2008, saying the Phillies’ NLCS series against the Padres just feels different — oddly reminiscent of that magical run 14 years ago. ”The vibes are immaculate,” said Michael Hanisco, who came to the game with his wife, Leann, and a cardboard cutout head of Danny Devito. Why? It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, of course. A needed reminder as light rain fell steadily through the first four innings.
It didn’t bother Patrick Beatty, a college professor from North Jersey who seemed none too concerned his elaborate George Washington costume might get wet. (He wore it because “Philadelphia freedom,” or something.)
He said this year “might feel even better” than ‘08.”We weren’t expected,” he said. “It’s like we’re on borrowed time.”
—Anna Orso
Rain moving into Philadelphia
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Padres on the board with Juan Soto home run
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The Padres’ first hit against Zack Wheeler is a solo homer by Juan Soto.
— Scott Lauber
Phillies take 2-0 lead on Rhys Hoskins home run
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Rhys Hoskins now leads all postseason hitters with five home runs and 11 RBI.
His two-run shot gives the Phillies a 2-0 lead after three innings. He has four homers in his last four postseason games.
After being booed by fans in Game 3 of the series for an error, Hoskins has responded with quite the performance at bat, especially in Game 4, when he cut the Padres’ 4-0 lead in half with a 384-foot home run to left-center field (must be a key spot for the veteran).
Those boos turned into pure cheering.
— Marcus Hayes and Isabella DiAmore
Alec Bohm’s elbow probably never felt better
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Harper ties a pair of Phillies’ postseason hitting records
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Wheeler still looks dominant on short rest
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That’s six up and six down for Zack Wheeler, who has thrown his hardest pitch of the season already (99.5 mph) and has struck out three batters through his first two innings of work today. Pretty inspired performance so far, especially coming from a pitcher who is on short rest.
— Alex Coffey
Austin Nola hits Yu Darvish with ill-timed throw to mound
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Wheeler looks sharp in first inning
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Zack Wheeler, the Phillies’ best pitcher, just struck out Manny Machado, the Padres’ best player, in a nine-pitch at-bat, with a 3-2, 99-mph sinker, to retire the Padres 1-2-3 in the first inning.
This is playoff baseball at its best.
— Marcus Hayes
Game 5 is underway, despite threat of rain
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Jayson Werth throws out first pitch of Game 5
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Miles Teller pumped up for Game 5
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Thomson won’t let Phillies take 3-1 lead for granted — for good reason
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Rob Thomson’s Phillies hold a 3-1 lead over the Padres in the best-of-seven NLCS, but he’s not taking anything for granted.
Thomson was on Joe Torre’s staff as the special assignment instructor for the Yankees in 2004, so he had a front-row seat to the greatest comeback, and the greatest collapse, in sports history. He witnessed the Yankees lose intensity after they scored 32 runs in the first three games of the ALCS and take a 3-0 lead over the Red Sox.
Thomson doesn’t want to be the victim of an other collapse.
It began when Kevin Millar led off the bottom of the ninth and Terry Francona pinch-ran Dave Roberts for Millar, trailing by a run. Roberts stole second, scored on Bill Mueller’s single, and David Ortiz hit a walk-off, two-run bomb in the 12th that sent Fenway into a rapturous frenzy.
But, really, so what? The Yankees still led the 2004 ALCS, 3 games to 1, and no team had ever come back from a 3-0 deficit. Except the Red Sox wouldn’t die. In Game 5, down by two runs, Ortiz hit a homer to start the bottom of the eighth, Millar walked again, Roberts pinch-ran again, went to third on a single, then tied it on a sacrifice fly. Ortiz won it again, this time in the 14th, with a walk-off single.
Back in New York, Curt Schilling shut down the Yankees in Game 6, Derek Lowe did the same in Game 7, and history was made. It was the first and only time in Major League history a team had overcome a 3-0 deficit in a seven-game series.
Teams that take a 3-1 lead in a seven-game series aren’t quite as efficient; 77 of 91 have gone on to win the series, or 85%. Still, Thomson doesn’t want to be the 15th team to suffer that ignominy.
“We’ve got to go out and prepare the same way as we always do every day, and go out and compete and leave it out there,” Thomson said before Game 5. “I was on the 2004 Yankees, so I know what it’s like. You’ve got to keep going. You’ve got to finish it.”
— Marcus Hayes
The Phillies’ Rob Thomson is ‘special.’ Just ask Derek Jeter.
Tarp comes off the field at Citizens Bank Park
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Bryson Stott: Veterans like Schwarber, Harper set the tone
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Bryson Stott admires the leadership that Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper have carried throughout the postseason. It’s one that resonates with the younger players on the team.
“He’s a vocal leader in a sense, but he’s more of a lead by example,” Stott said of Schwarber. “We never seen him get mad… I mean you could just look at him and know that he’s a leader.”
One of those examples came on Saturday night, when Schwarber nailed his third home run of the postseason in a 10-6 comeback over the Padres in Game 4 of the NLCS, despite “grinding through” a knee injury.
As for Harper, the slugger rose to the moment yet again in Game 4 after hitting a go-ahead double that allowed the Phils to bounce back and regain the lead after falling in a four-run hole early in the game.
“He lives for this,” said Stott, who’s known Harper since before he was drafted in the first round by the Phillies in 2019. “Any time you have a superstar that has missed out on the postseason a few years in a row, they just want to get back.
“He’s stepping up to the big stage for us, and to [be able to] follow his lead is huge. It’s not just him, it’s Rhys [Hoskins], Kyle, J.T. [Realmuto], and [Nick] Castellanos. Those are the veterans we look up to and follow their lead.”
How Bryson Stott helped a Phillies mega-fan honor his late father at Game 4
— Isabella DiAmore
Meteorologists agree: Rain aside, game should be ‘playable’
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It’s not going to be a beautiful day for baseball, but meteorologists concur with Major League Baseball’s conclusion that conditions will be “playable” for Game 5 of the Phillies-Padres series.
Rain is likely during the game, but “it looks very light,” said Ray Martin, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Mount Holly.
Bill Deger, senior meteorologist with AccuWeather Inc., and a lifelong Phillies fan who remembers the ugly conditions that marred 1993 and 2008 World Series games in Philly, agreed. He said that like a light-hitting utility player, the rains on Sunday might be “pesky” but shouldn’t be a show-stopper.
A coastal storm was spreading rain south to north, but at noon Deger noted that “there’s not really a solid area of rain” to the south of the region.
Skies will be slate gray, and temperatures will be on the chilly side, in the low to mid-60s in South Philly.
“It’s not going to be a nice afternoon,” said Martin.
Deger added that might be especially true for the hitters, with a decent wind from the northeast blowing almost straight in from centerfield. Not to mention the fact that the Phillies (Zach Wheeler) and Astros (Yu Darvish) will have their aces on the mound, and the hitters might be arm-weary after Saturday night.
He said that in terms of weather issues, Sunday night’s Game 4 of the playoff series between the Houston Astros and Yankees in New York, might in serious trouble.
Down 3-0, the Yanks might not mind a break.
— Anthony R. Wood
A Phillies Game 5 clincher impacted by rain? Where have we seen that before?
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Everyone in Philly is hoping to see the Phillies clinch a World Series berth on Sunday, but Mother Nature may have something to say about that. And Philadelphians are especially sensitive to weather impacting their team’s game. We have the Fog Bowl, the Snow Bowl, and, of course, a three day-long World Series clincher.
Back in 2018, to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the Phillies’ 2008 World Series victory, Scott Lauber and Bob Brookover decided to take a look back at one of the strangest — if not the strangest — World Series finishes of all time. Here’s how some key figures from that series remember the game that started on Monday, took a day off on Tuesday, and eventually ended on Wednesday, with the Phillies and city celebrating their first title since 1980.
The weather isn’t expected to be that bad today, but it’s definitely worth keeping an eye on. And be sure to click over here to read our full oral history of that wild Game 5.
— Matt Mullin
Padres Game 5 lineup against Zack Wheeler
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— Rob Tornoe
Report: Phillies-Padres ‘planning to start on time’
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Tarp on the field at Citizens Bank Park
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Phillies try to break Oct. 23 losing streak
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For Phillies’ fans, Oct. 23 is not a date for fond postseason memories. Here is a recap of what has happened on this date:
— Anthony R. Wood
Phillies-Padres are meeting to discuss the weather
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Phillies lineup remains unchanged for Game 5
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— Rob Tornoe
Ahead of Game 5, thinking back to a Phillies spring training photo
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Early one morning, back in late March, the five sluggers pulled on red pinstriped uniforms, picked up bats, and walked on the field at the Phillies’ spring-training ballpark in Clearwater, Fla.
It was impossible not to think of that photo shoot Saturday night.
This was how the Phillies were supposed to win. This was how they were built. No deficit would be insurmountable for an offense led by holdovers Rhys Hoskins and J.T. Realmuto, newcomers Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos, and 2021 National League MVP Bryce Harper. They would outslug everything — porous defense, a lack of pitching depth, whatever deficiency you could think of.
Pick your nickname: Broad Street Bashers. Sluggers of the Schuylkill. Macho Row 2.0.
It didn’t play out that way. Not exactly. Harper missed the summer with a broken left thumb. Castellanos had the worst season of his career. Realmuto struggled for two months before carrying the Phillies through the middle of the season. Hoskins ran typically hot and cold.
But in Game 4 of the NL Championship Series, they came together to bring the Phillies back from a four-run first-inning deficit by combining to go 9-for-18 with three doubles, four homers, and nine RBIs in a 10-6 victory that pushed them to the threshold of the franchise’s eight pennant and first World Series appearance since 2009.
“If you think about the year, we haven’t had those five guys together all that much,” manager Rob Thomson said. “Coming down the stretch, we finally got them all together. [Saturday] is like one of those nights where you think, that’s what you have when you put it together in spring training.”
They have the picture to prove it.
— Scott Lauber
‘My son played for the Padres. I booed him, too.’
// Timestamp 10/23/22 10:40am
Rain still in the forecast for Phillies-Padres Game 5
// Timestamp 10/23/22 10:12am
A coastal storm already is throwing back rain at the Jersey Shore and it looks like that rain will make its way to South Philly by midafternoon, if not sooner.
But even if it does, postseason history suggests that the Phillies and Padres will play Game 5 of the National League Championship Series, scheduled to start at 2:37 p.m. Sunday.
Rain could start as early as noon, said Cameron Wunderlin, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Mount Holly, but the odds jump to 50-50 at game time and to 75-25 in rain’s favor by 5 p.m.
However, if you’re betting on rain amounts, Wunderlin suggests taking the under.
“This is generally a light rainfall,” he said, with no more than a tenth of an inch expected by 6 p.m.
If that holds, the Phillies have played in worse in the post-season in Philly.
They played in a steady rain in the 1977 playoff game in which they were eliminated by the Los Angeles Dodgers. (That was the day after the infamous “Black Friday” loss, and we’ll spare the long-suffering from recounting the details.)
They slogged through a virtual monsoon in 1993 in a World Series game they lost to the Toronto Blue Jays, 15-14.
And the clincher of the 2008 World Series victory over the Tampa Bay Rays was started unwisely during a nor’easter on a Monday, was suspended, and not completed until the following Wednesday night.
In any event, it will be a dreary afternoon, but with a Zack Wheeler-Yu Darvish friendly wind blowing in from the northeast.
If Game 5 on Sunday ends up being rained out, it would be rescheduled for Monday. But then MLB would have to add a day to the NLCS, pushing it to Wednesday if a Game 7 becomes necessary. The World Series is scheduled to begin on Friday.
— Anthony R. Wood
Astros look to sweep the Yankees in ALCS
// Timestamp 10/23/22 9:00am
The Phillies defeated the Houston Astros back on Oct. 3 to punch a ticket into the MLB playoffs. Now it’s looking like they could face each other again in the World Series.
The Astros hold a 3-0 lead over the New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series, and look to complete the sweep tonight in Yankees Stadium at 7:07 p.m. The game will air on TBS.
The Bronx not-so-Bombers have batted just .161 during the playoffs, and have scored just four runs through the first three games of the ALCS. Yankees batters have struck out 94 times in 248 postseason at-bats.
— Rob Tornoe
If rain postpones Game 5, it would favor the Phillies
// Timestamp 10/23/22 7:00am
With rain in the forecast for Game 5 on Sunday afternoon, the game might be postponed until Monday.
That would mean Phillies ace Zack Wheeler would get an extra day of rest for the clincher; the Phils lead, 3-1. Wheeler was shut down twice in the past 10 months as a precaution because he felt discomfort in his shoulder, then his forearm. Wheeler also fatigued in Game 1 and left after just 83 pitches.
It also would mean No. 2 starter Aaron Nola would get an extra day of rest, if there is a Game 6 back in San Diego. Nola has already thrown 222 1/3 innings this season, 10 more than his previous career high, set four years ago. Also, Nola has never pitched past the regular season. He looked tired when he got shelled in Game 2 in San Diego on Wednesday.
The Phillies’ most potent postseason weapon, other than Bryce Harper’s bat, also would benefit: The bullpen.
The bullpen has been a revelation.
It won Game 4 as much as anything; Bailey Falter, er, faltered, so the Phillies got only two outs from him. The bullpen delivered 8 1/3 innings of two-run ball, and somehow came away in a good position.
Both Seranthony Dominguez and Jose Alvarado, the righty-lefty closer duo who did not pitch (and would not have pitched) Saturday, would be pitching on two days’ rest if the series resumes Monday. Alvarado’s 62 innings, counting his minor-league stint, are the most he’s thrown in four seasons. Dominguez has a long injury history, and he missed nearly a month, beginning Aug. 10, with tendinitis.
Finally, other key bullpen components who were used Saturday would get a day to recover. That includes 37-year-old David Robertson, who missed most of the first two series with a calf injury but looked electric Saturday night, as well as Zach Eflin, who pitched two days in a row. Eflin, the former No. 5 starter, missed nearly three months this season due to a chronic knee condition. Every minute of rest he gets is important.
— Marcus Hayes
Zack Wheeler gets the chance to pitch the Phillies into the World Series
// Timestamp 10/23/22 7:00am
Zack Wheeler couldn’t lie. He chewed on this scenario, rolled it around his brain, and imagined what it may look, sound, and feel like to take the ball and scale the mound with a chance to pitch the Phillies into the World Series.
“Yeah, I have thought about it a little bit,” he said. “That would be pretty cool.”
Wheeler didn’t wait until after Saturday night’s instant classic, 10-6 victory over the San Diego Padres in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series to make that admission. It dawned on him a few days ago.
The Phillies got home Thursday after splitting the series’ first two games in San Diego. He wasn’t scheduled to pitch again until Game 5 on Sunday. If they could somehow win Friday and Saturday nights, if they could harness the energy from the ear-splitting crowd noise at raucous Citizens Bank Park, they could get to Wheeler with a chance to wrap up the series.
Wouldn’t that be something?
Zack Wheeler gets a ‘pretty cool’ chance to pitch the Phillies into the World Series at home
— Scott Lauber
Phillies-Padres Game 5: How to watch and stream
// Timestamp 10/23/22 7:00am
What channel is Phillies-Padres on?
Phillies-Padres Game 5 is scheduled to begin at 2:37 p.m. Eastern on FS1.
Calling the series for Fox is play-by-play announcer Joe Davis and analyst John Smoltz, who have become familiar voices to Phillies fans after calling both their wild-card and divisional round games, and all three games during the NLCS. Ken Rosenthal and Tom Verducci will be reporting from the field at Citizens Bank Park.
On 94.1 WIP, Phillies announcers Scott Franzke and Larry Andersen will once again handle play-calling duties. Rejoining them on Sunday is Tom McCarthy, the team’s TV voice on NBC Sports Philadelphia, who will help call the fifth and sixth innings. McCarthy wasn’t in the booth on Saturday because he was attending his son’s wedding.
Bill Kulik and Oscar Budejen will broadcast Phillies-Padres in Spanish on La Unika 1680 AM. The game will also air on TV in Spanish on Fox Deportes, with Adrian Garcia Marquez and Edgar Gonzalez on the call.
Where can I stream Phillies-Padres?
Phillies-Padres will stream on the Fox Sports app, though it will only be available to those with a cable subscription.
The game will also stream on any so-called skinny bundle that carries Fox, including fuboTV, YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, Sling TV, and DirecTV Stream. Most offer a free trial.
Phillies-Padres Game 5: Start time, channel, how to watch and stream MLB playoffs
— Rob Tornoe
Full Phillies-Padres NLCS playoff schedule
// Timestamp 10/23/22 7:00am
Full 2022 MLB playoff schedule
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