We’re going to have a new World Series Champion this year. The reigning World Series champions, the Atlanta Braves, are OUT as the Phillies have beaten them 8-3 to win the NLDS series 3-1 and move on to the NLCS.
I’ve got to say, I’m extremely surprised with how easily the Phillies have knocked off the Braves. Not only were the Braves one of the best National League teams in the MLB this season, finishing just behind the New York Mets because of their head-to-head record with a 101-61 record, but they also had a pretty competitive rivalry with the Phillies this season.
In the 17 matchups these division rivals have had, the Braves won 10 of the 17 matchups, with most of those seven losses only being 1-3 run affairs. In other words, the Braves and Phillies were an evenly matched team in the regular season, even though the Braves were the superior team overall.
And that is what makes this absolute route of the Braves by the Phillies so surprising. Well, when Bryce Harper is hitting like an MVP again, I guess it shouldn’t be too surprising.
With a crazy batting average of .458, 10 hits, 6 runs scored, and 3 home runs in the six games the Phillies have played this season, Harper has been unstoppable. He torched the St. Louis Cardinals and really smoked the Braves as he led the Phillies to back-to-back blowout wins.
It’s still a little strange seeing a Bryce Harper-led team reach the NLCS, given the years and years of failure he suffered while a member of the Nationals, but it’s nice to see him finally get some success. He’s been an MVP caliber player for all of his career, and he deserves this great honor.
Though, in fairness, it wasn’t just Harper that dominated helped the Phillies dominate the Braves as the pitching eliminated the Atlanta sluggers from Game 2 and on. And especially today.
Even though they gave up three home runs, Noah Syndergaard, Andrew Bellatti, José Alvarado, Zach Eflin, and Seranthony DomÃnguez silenced the likes of Ronald Acuna Jr., Dansby Swanson, and Austin Riley, and Michael Harris, as the pitching core only allowed 4 hits, had a combined strikeout tally of 15, while only Eflin had an ERA higher than 4.00.
That’s simply fantastic pitching.
Nonetheless, the Braves should feel very disappointed with this result as not only did they come into this series with a first-round bye, but they also had some great sluggers on their team. Acuna Jr., Swanson, Harris, and Riley all had a really bad series with only 13 runs scored in 4 games.
For the defending World Series Champions to go out like that, it must sting.
Anyway, the Phillies won’t care about that as they now are moving on to the NLCS for the first time in 12 years to face either the Dodgers or the Padres. And I’m sure they’re hoping the San Diego Padres can pull off the upset of the postseason and knock off the World Series favorite LA Dodgers later on tonight.
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