The Philadelphia Phillies are one win away from the National League Championship Series. Wednesday night at Citizens Bank Park, the Phillies rode two Bryce Harper home runs and six homers overall to an 10-2 win (box score) over the Atlanta Braves in the Game 3 of the Division Series. Philadelphia leads the best-of-five series 2-1. They can punch their ticket to the NLCS on Thursday.
Truth be told, the Phillies have been the better team throughout the NLDS outside the final four innings of Game 2. Those last four innings in Game 2 count and they won the Braves that game, but Philadelphia has played very well this series, and the 2-1 lead is well-earned. Here now are our takeaways from Philadelphia's Game 3 win.
1. Bryce Harper is inevitable
It did not take Harper long to atone for what can be called overly aggressive baserunning on the final play of Game 2. In his second at-bat of Game 3, Harper launched a go-ahead three-run home run that brought that house down. He stared down Orlando Arcia as he rounded the bases too. To the action footage:
That is about as aesthetically pleasing as a home run can get. A hanger from Bryce Elder, a sweet swing from Harper, a great call from Brian Anderson on TBS, and camera work that made it look like the ball was going to land halfway up the upper deck. Sorry, Braves fans, but that is pretty much the perfect baseball highlight.
Harper's home run was the big blow in Philadelphia's six-run third inning -- Nick Castellanos clubbed a solo home run and J.T. Realmuto doubled in two runs -- and he added a second homer in the fifth. That was a solo shot. Through three NLDS games, Harper is 5 for 11 with three homers, three walks, and one strikeout.
This is Year 5 of Harper's 13-year, $330 million contract and he has been worth every penny to date. He's won an MVP and, more importantly, he's come up huge in the postseason. Last year Harper hit the series-winning home run in the NLCS. In Game 3, he had the dagger against the best team in baseball. Harper is, always and forever, That Dude.
2. Castellanos had two homers, too
Brandon Marsh and Trea Turner went deep as well. The Phillies became the second team ever to hit six home runs in a postseason game, joining the Chicago Cubs in Game 3 of the 2015 NLDS against the St. Louis Cardinals. Kyle Schwarber went deep that night but not Wednesday night.
Philadelphia has eight home runs in the NLDS. The Braves have two. Remember, Atlanta led baseball with 307 home runs during the regular season, 58 more than the second-place Los Angeles Dodgers. They've yet to find their long ball stroke in the NLDS. Credit to the Phillies and their pitching staff for keeping the game's best home run team in the ballpark.
3. Nola gave the Phillies exactly what they needed
It was not the best regular season for Aaron Nola, who had a 4.46 ERA with his lowest strikeout rate in six years. He was terrific against the Miami Marlins in the Wild Card Series though (seven scoreless innings), and, in NLDS Game 3, he held the highest scoring offense in baseball to one run in 5 2/3 innings. Nola struck out nine.
Nola came one out short of completing six full innings -- only 38 starters completed six innings against Atlanta during the regular season -- and that allowed manager Rob Thomson to avoid dipping too deep into his bullpen, All the high leverage guys will be fresh behind Ranger Suárez in Game 4. Expect Thomson to be very aggressive with his bullpen Thursday.
Getting back to Nola though, his stellar postseason comes after a so-so regular season and before he hits the open market. His free agency will be fascinating. Nola's a legacy Phillie, but he's endured a huge career workload and there are red flags (declining velocity, declining strikeouts, etc.). For now, Nola's been fantastic in the postseason. He was excellent in Game 3.
4. Smith-Shawver saved the Braves' bullpen
Because of that six-run third inning, Elder went only 2 2/3 innings in Game 3, so Atlanta needed 5 1/3 innings from their bullpen. Rookie AJ Smith-Shawver soaked up 2 2/3 of those innings and, even while surrendering three solo homers, he saved the rest of the bullpen. That puts the Braves in the best position to win a must-win Game 4 on Thursday. Nice job by the 20-year-old in his postseason debut. Smith-Shawver started this season in High Class-A.
5. The Phillies are in the driver's seat
Philadelphia leads the best-of-five series 2-1 and can punch its ticket to the NLCS on Thursday. Because of the unusual schedule -- off-days after Games 1 and 2 -- each team can bring their Game 1 starter back in Game 4 on normal rest. That means Spencer Strider for Atlanta and Suárez for the Phillies. The Braves won 104 games and had the best record in baseball. Now they're one loss away from going home for the winter.
Below is our running commentary and analysis from Game 3.