PHILADELPHIA — Years from now, when they roll highlights from the 2022 Phillies’ postseason run, the clip of Rhys Hoskins demolishing a ball into the left-field seats, raising both arms, and spiking his bat — and let’s be clear: this was a Jalen Hurts-quality spike — will play prominently.
As it should. Aside from being the biggest hit of Hoskins’ career and sending the Phillies on to a 9-1 thrashing of the Atlanta Braves in pivotal Game 3 of the best-of-five National League Division Series, it may have been the blast that broke the defending World Series champions.
But if we’re talking about the moment when playoff baseball truly returned to Citizens Bank Park after an 11-year absence, when the decibel levels at the yard in South Philly rose like they hadn’t since, what, Roy Halladay’s no-hitter in the 2010 NLDS, you have to rewind the tape by two batters.
You have to go back to Bryson Stott.
Hoskins was not yet in the on-deck circle in the third inning when the rookie shortstop dug in against flame-throwing Braves starter Spencer Strider. The first pitch was low and away. The next two were called strikes. Another ball. Then, as Strider reached back for whatever velocity he could still muster in his first start in 26 days, Stott fouled off four pitches in a row, each registering 97 mph, the sold-out crowd of 45,538 cheering louder each time.
Figuring he sped up Stott’s bat, Strider turned down the heat. He threw a slider, 86 mph and not low enough, and Stott lined it into right field for a double that scored Brandon Marsh with the first run of the game.
Cue the delirium.
Delirium turned into bedlam with Hoskins’ three-run homer and sprint around the bases. Hoskins leaped in the air and smashed elbows with Stott. He slapped hands with Kyle Schwarber. The crowd stood. Red rally towels waved.
And after Strider exited, Bryce Harper made the ground shake beneath his neon green Phanatic cleats by lifting a two-run homer to right field for a six-run lead.
Red October? Yes, indeed. With the added boost of 11 years of pent-up emotion.
By the eighth inning, the party was on. So was the rout. The Phillies emptied their bench. Edmundo Sosa, Matt Vierling, and Dalton Guthrie got into the game, as if it was a spring training matchup in Clearwater. There was no need for manager Rob Thomson to choose between Zach Eflin and Seranthony Domínguez for the ninth inning. They got the night off.
Connor Brogdon recorded the game-ending strikeout, and “Dancing On My Own,” the Phillies’ adopted postseason anthem, blared over the speakers.
And now, after ending an 11-year playoff drought by claiming the last NL wild card and vanquishing the St. Louis Cardinals for their first postseason series victory in 12 years, the Phillies are on the brink of reaching the NL Championship Series for the first time since 2010.
When the Phillies left town on the evening of Sept. 25 for a season-ending, 10-day road trip, they didn’t know if they would make it back. Even if they made the playoffs, they would play the wild-card round entirely on the road.
So, just setting foot in Citizens Bank Park again represented a triumph of sorts.
But when the Phillies popped champagne in Houston on Oct. 3 after clinching a playoff berth, they vowed to repeat the merriment four more times, once for each postseason series they insisted they would play en route to the third World Series title in the franchise’s 140-year history.
If the rest of the world didn’t believe in them, well, they’re probably beginning to convert people. Maybe even some of the fans who packed in tightly to see the Phillies’ first home playoff game in 4,025 days.
The Braves didn’t decide on a Game 3 starter until Thursday night and didn’t divulge their choice until about seven hours before the first pitch.
In choosing Strider over postseason veteran Charlie Morton, they took a calculated risk. They knew that Strider, who hadn’t pitched since Sept. 18 because of a strained muscle in his side, could give them only a few innings. But if they were going to tax the bullpen, they preferred to do it after an off-day.
Besides, Strider was supposed to be Phillies kryptonite. In three regular-season matchups against the rookie right-hander, they were 7 for 74. Strider throws primarily fastballs, but as Alec Bohm said a few months ago, his heater is “different.”
For two innings, Strider made the Braves look wise. He overpowered the Phillies, lighting up the radar gun with 97s and 98s, even touching 100.6 mph. And he retired the first six batters on only 29 pitches.
But when Strider came back out for the third inning, his fastball was coming out at 95 and 96. He walked Marsh on four pitches to start the inning. He lacked the sizzle to put away Stott.
Suddenly, there was nothing different about Strider.
Stott shattered that myth with the Phillies’ first hit of the game, the start of a six-run inning that
And now, all that stands between the Phillies and a trip to either Los Angeles or San Diego next week for the NL Championship Series is Morton. They went 31 for 103 (.301) and scored 17 runs in five games against Morton this season.
