Categories: 2023 Postgame Recaps

Nola dominates, Stott punctuates sweep as Phillies roll into NLDS

Bryson Stott celebrates his NLDS Game 2 grand slam. (Photo by Andy Lewis/Icon Sportswire)

The Phillies swept last year’s Wild Card Series with a ton of anxiety and a whole bunch of moments. Jean Segura’s go-ahead single. The Game 1 ninth-inning rally as a whole. Seranthony Domínguez struck out two MVP finalists in a row. Alec Bohm had a couple web games; Bryce Harper hit a missile.

The Phillies’ 2023 Wild Card Series saw one “moment,” but it required none. They and the Marlins brought two different levels of baseball to Citizens Bank Park this week, and the superior one prevailed with ease.

Zack Wheeler was masterful in Game 1, and much like they played off each other early in last year’s World Series run, Aaron Nola one-upped him in Game 2. The Phillies’ righty, whose up-and-down regular season brought a healthy dose of uncertainty into his postseason, silenced every decibel of skepticism on Wednesday, firing seven shutout innings on just 88 pitches.

Nola pitched to contact against Miami’s offense, generating just 10 whiffs and striking out only three — but allowing a mere three hits, one walk and one hit by pitch.

The baserunners he did allow, he promptly erased. The first instance came on a pivotal play in the third, when Jon Berti doubled before Nola picked him off with an inside move to second. He allowed a single and a walk before an inning-ending double play in the fifth. He rolled another in the sixth.

By the time he exited, the Phillies had all but secured an NLDS rematch with the Atlanta Braves. Kyle Schwarber doubled home Cristian Pache in the third before Trea Turner singled him home for a 2-0 lead. Former Marlin J.T. Realmuto took former Phillie David Robertson deep with a 404-foot, 110-mph homer in the fourth.

But the big blow — and the top “moment” of the series, if you will — came off the bat of Bryson Stott. With the bases loaded and one out in the sixth, Stott got a first-pitch elevated fastball from Andrew Nardi and pounced.

Fifteen years after Shane Victorino hit the first in the 2008 World Series, the second grand slam in Phillies postseason history gave them a 7-0 lead and made Citizens Bank Park lose its collective mind.

That was all the scoring for the Phillies’ offense — despite Trea Turner earning his fourth Wild Card Series hit with a double in the seventh — and it was plenty. In an ideal spot for a postseason debut, especially that of a rookie, Orion Kerkering fired a perfect eighth on nine pitches, and Gregory Soto finished the 7-1 win.

Of all the above moments that led the Phillies to last year’s Wild Card sweep, the effort was led by two people: Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola. They led it this time around as well, and it’ll take them to a familiar place: Atlanta, for one of the more anticipated NLDS matchups you’ll ever see.

Game 1 is Saturday. Tonight, the Phillies will party.

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