ST. LOUIS — Rhys Hoskins can picture it. A packed Citizens Bank Park. Rally towels in the hands of 43,000 screaming Philadelphians. The scene will resemble what so many were privileged to say was the standard in the late 2000s- early 2010s.
Philadelphia was a baseball town back then. The place ran a 257-game consecutive sellout streak during a recession. The players of that era had a connection to the city that will go unmatched. We sometimes pretend it still is, but the reality is that the Phillies needed to be better to recapture the hearts of a football crazed sports city.
Now could be the time.
“God, this place is going to be rocking,” Hoskins said. “This place is going to be absolutely rocking. All of the stuff that I heard about Red October — let’s go. Let’s bring it on.”
The scene will look a little different. The careers of Chase Utley, Ryan Howard and Jimmy Rollins are memories. There will be towels, but they will not be white. Phillies players, like so many fans, have taken some time to reflect on the glory years. Some were teenagers while others were children when the franchise won the World Series in 2008. The sea of towels waving in the air stands out to both Hoskins and Bryce Harper.
“We’re excited to see the towels in the stands,” Harper said. “I can’t wait to get back. I got chills right now. I don’t know if it’s because I’m cold because of beer, but I’m fired up. I can’t wait to get back.”
It wasn’t a perfect series from an offensive perspective, but it didn’t need to be. Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola did not allow a run. Seranthony Domínguez struck out Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado with the go-ahead run at the plate in the eighth inning of Game 2. Every play was made behind them. You can even argue that the quality of at-bats over the two games tell a better story than results.
“We weren’t able to capitalize on a few situations that came up late in the game, but this continuous pressure on these guys,” Hoskins said. “We keep getting guys on. We keep having opportunities. We’re gonna score eventually and that puts pressure on the other team.”
The Phillies will need to continue to pitch well and play good defense to steal a five-game series against a 101-win Braves team who led the National League with 243 home runs in the regular season. Teams that outhomer their opponent typically come out on top in the postseason. For the Phillies, it’s a promising sign that its biggest star may have found his power stroke at the right time.
“Just trying to get a pitch over the zone that I can handle and not miss it,” Harper said. “I think that’s a big thing I’ve been doing right now. I’ve been missing pitches over the plate and swinging at stuff out of the zone. If I can figure that out and fix that a little bit, we’ll be OK. Everybody is picking up everybody.”
Harper’s message before the game was simple: We’re not losing today. It’s the first thing Hoskins heard when he walked into the clubhouse. Nola heard it. Bohm heard it. Harper repeated it, even as he sat on the bench in the bottom of the eighth inning as the Cardinals threatened a comeback.
“We’re going to keep going. Whatever that means, we’re going to keep going,” Harper said.
A few moments later, the former Cardinal Edmundo Sosa caught a foul ball that creeped toward the Phillies dugout. The National League will be down to four teams by the end of tonight and the Phillies are one of them. In five days, they will host Game 3 of the NLDS.
According to Phillies.com, the game is already sold out.
“I can promise you that nobody is excited to play the Phillies right now,” J.T. Realmuto said.
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