This is what the Phillies do that makes it so frustrating. They take an unwinnable situation, a foregone conclusion, 'okay, the Braves are the way better team, they will win', and they give you the illusion of hope. Making this a three game series was exactly that. It could have been cut and dry for the Braves but we legged it out to Game 3, made them trot out Chris Sale and Grant Holmes, and made them really work for a win they already kinda had. All the while they just make you think it was possible. You know, somebody could come alive, somebody could get to the other pitching staff. And then the exact thing you were preparing for from the jump happens anyway and you get worked up over nothing.
Unsurprisingly, the Braves were the better team. Ozzie Albies, Michael Harris and Matt Olson all hit crucial home runs in spots they were supposed to. The bullpen could leg out the game, Ray Kerr could have a terrific opening performance, and Chris Sale was around to finish it off. Even Grant Holmes was decent in a mid-game run. Everyone who was in position to succeed did so, and cemented a win that, to be honest, should have been cemented last game. But still, the Braves get to go to LA and potentially upset the defending champs, and make for a pretty evenly-matched NLDS matchup. I'm fine with it.
The Phils, for a team that could not hit, did so much to combat the obvious issue. They got a batting addition and two bullpen additions, none of whom made the playoff roster. They got Derek Hill and Bryan de la Cruz for nothing, and they became surprisingly nice presences on the team. Everyone who was sucking in May got a September boost, like Aaron Nola, Bryson Stott, Andrew Painter and Alec Bohm. And Schwarber and Harper kept hitting homers. Unfortunately, the Trea Turner contract is becoming a horse around our necks, the bullpen still couldn't get through a damn thing, and the Braves were simply the better team. It was nice we legged it out, and Derek Hill hitting a triple this game makes me think he can be useful going forward, but...this was not the Phils' finest hour, and very well might be the death nell of the Harper era. But who knows, maybe Alex Cora can bring us back next year.
Friday I can actually catch my breath, but Saturday we've got ALDSs. I've got one team I love still in the race, plus three teams who've never won a World Series plus the Guardians who haven't won since the Truman administration, and the White Sox who I'd love to see do well. Obviously there's one spot in the championship series' reserved for a perennial figure, thanks to the Dodgers-Braves series, but there's still room for spontaneity in all the other ones. Kinda pulling for a Brewers-Yanks series but am fine with virtually everything but Dodgers-Rays.
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