HOUSTON – When Philadelphia Phillies fired coach Joe Girardi after a 22-29 start of the season, it was hard to imagine Bryce HarperAnd the Kyle Schwarber And interim manager Rob Thompson will be dancing in a champagne shower in October.
But that team persevered through the tough start and injury that toppled Harper for two months to do just that, beating the Houston Astros 3-0 on Monday night to seal their first playoff game in 11 years.
“That’s the point, that’s what you’re playing for,” Harper said.
Aaron Nola Schwarber took a perfect match in the seventh inning, Schwarber’s push to push the Phillies to victory.
“It hasn’t been an easy season,” said Schwarber. “We’ve had a manager change, the best player in the league slipped… and we’ve seen people who say our season is over, and that doesn’t even count the Phillies and they can’t catch up with baseball… and for us to get all our guys back and in good health.” And for them to be all there and contribute, that’s what it’s all about.
after, after Brandon March capture Mauricio DupontVolleyball In the middle of the final, Philadelphia players jumped and cheered in glee before meeting in the hill, as they hugged and bounced around each other.
The video board at Minute Maid Park featured the team’s logo and the phrase “Congratulations Philadelphia” during the Phillies celebration.
A small but noisy group of Philadelphia fans gathered near the team’s dugout and chanted, “Let’s go Phillies,” at the bottom of the ninth inning.
At the victorious club, Thompson gave his team a quick speech before the champagne flew.
“We are not finished,” he told his team. “After Wednesday, we had another 13 wins and we are the world champions.
“Congratulations, enjoy this, you won it.”
Players and coaches danced and sang while champagne from specially labeled bottles celebrated them as they punched through their long-awaited ticket as they painstakingly labored into the post-season and dunked their red shirts.
“When I signed here in 2019, I said it would take a few years, three, four or five years, to get to where we need to be,” said Harper, two-time MVP. And we are not where we want to be right now, but this is the first step to greater success and a greater chance of getting to where we need to be. ”
Harper credited Thompson as the team’s key to turning things around. Thompson said he appreciated the compliments but did not take credit for his success.
“At the beginning of the year, we didn’t play well, we didn’t play to our potential,” Thompson said. “But I always felt like we were going to get there, and we did. So, I just happened to come at the right time.”
The Phillies snatched up at the same stadium where they got their last post-season run on September 14, 2011. That match was a 1–0 victory over the Astros highlighted by a complete shutdown of the game by Hall of Famer Roy Halladay.
Philadelphia’s post-season drought was the longest running in the major leagues after the Seattle Mariners clinched their first playoff berth in 21 years Friday night.
Now that the Phillies have snatched, all 12 playoff points are set, with exact matches set for the next two days.
The Phillies entered the opener of the last regular season series needing a win or loss from the Milwaukee Brewers to earn a spot in the National League. The Brewers rallied to beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-5 in 10 innings just minutes before Philadelphia wrapped up the victory.
Nola hit the nines and didn’t even let the main enemy out Jordan Alvarez Singles with two outs on the seventh. David Hensley followed by one song, Nola replaced by Jose Alvaradowho hit Kyle Tucker to finish the run.
Zach Evelyn He hit the ninth place without goals to complete the shot and get his first save in 11 years of professional football.
Schwarber got things going for the Phillies on their first visit to Houston since September 16, 2012, with Homer outdoing Lance McCullers.
Philadelphia added some insurance when Bryson Stott Schwarber hits consecutive single shots Jose Urquidi To start the eighth inning.
It was Schwarber’s eighth home game this season, who leads the National League with 46 home runs and now has 199 home players in his career.
The Phillies have three players who will make their first post-season appearances after playing more than 600 games during their career. Jean Segura He leads the group with 1,327, JT Realmoto He has 1004 and Reese Hoskins He is at 666.
Segura, who is in his eleventh season in the Major League, is beginning to wonder if this day will ever come.
“I was feeling some pressure on myself, like I probably wouldn’t make it past the season,” he said.
Now that he made it through, he couldn’t be happier.
“It has been a long journey, I have been waiting for this opportunity for many years, and I guarantee that I will not let it pass,” Segura said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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