The Phillies Stars Finally Woke Up And Kicked The Everliving Shit Out Of The Dodgers To Keep This Series Alive
Harry How. Getty Images.The Phillies got great pitching out of Sanchez and Luzardo to start games 1 and 2. The Phillies got solid offensive contributions from the bottom of the lineup in games 1 and 2. The bullpen was definitely a liability, but the main reason why they got on a flight to LA down 0-2 in this series was because the Big 3 hadn't done dick the entire series.
Going into tonight, the trio of Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber, and Bryce Harper were a combined 2-21 in this series. The 3 most dangerous bats in this lineup were all auto outs for those first 2 games. But if somehow they were able to pull their heads out of their asses? If somehow the bats could heat up, and they could do what they're all on this team to do? Well then that's the only chance the Phillies had of keeping themselves alive and climbing back into this series.
I've got some good news for all the boys and girls back home--their heads have been sufficiently removed from their asses.
A 2-homerun night out of Kyle Schwarber, with the first one almost leaving the building. The dude hadn't had a hit in 22 straight at-bats, and then he steps up and nukes 2 with the Phillies' backs against the wall. That is what Kyle Schwarber does. It might take a little while to reheat the oven, but when he's on? He's a goddamn flamethrower.
3 hits and 2 RBIs for Trea Turner on the night. It wasn't the prettiest Bryce Harper game of his career, but he still had 2 hits and made Max Muncy his bitch on this run.
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7 hits out of the Big 3 tonight, and what's crazy is that the Phillies didn't even need them to win this game.
Rob Thomson has been taking a ton of shit over the last 36 hours for some awful decision making. And deservedly so. He got out-managed to the high heavens in games 1 and 2. But the Nola/Ranger combo on the mound tonight worked out to damn near perfection. Everybody was shitting their pants about Aaron Nola getting the start tonight, but he gave you 2 great innings to set the tone. He could have gone more, but the plan was the plan. And the plan immediately blew up in their face when Ranger gave up a home run on the very first pitch. But after that?
Vintage Ranger. Calmest mother fucker on the planet right here.
Again, it looked like it was going to be a classic case of everything Rob Thomson touches turning into shit after that first pitch. But the plan worked out beautifully after that. 2 scoreless innings from Nola. 5 almost perfect innings out of Ranger after that initial home run. And by the time they had to dip into the bullpen again, the Phillies had already beat the goddamn balls off of Clayton Kershaw to the point where it didn't matter who came in.
That 8th inning was UGLY. I mean Dave Roberts has to absolutely hate Clayton Kershaw, right? Only reasonable explanation for leaving the guy in there to take that type of beating. He was getting caved in, and Dave Roberts was just sitting there playing Candy Crush on his phone. Didn't even think about getting anybody up in the bullpen. I get the idea that maybe he knew the game was already out of hand, and he was trying to save some arms. But my god, that was a proper pummeling.
And it was the exact type of pummeling the Phillies needed to put on somebody. They needed to get their mojo back. Schwarber needed to heat up. Turner is finally settling back into a groove. And now it's setting up the perfect opportunity for Bryce Harper to finally have a night of his own in this series.
It's still a steep hill to climb. But this is a brand new series now that those guy got themselves going. All you need to do is win 1 more game, and then anything can happen in game 5. The bats are hot. The pitching has been great. And the momentum is starting to shift. Maybe I'm just drunk off of hope right now, but it's starting to feel like something special is brewing.