Phillies Clinch Postseason Berth For The First Time In 11 Years
Courtesy: CBS Sports
On Monday night the Phillies defeated the Astros 3-0, advancing them to the playoffs for the first time since 2011, ending what was the longest modern playoff drought in the MLB. Not only that, but Philadelphia also became the 12th team to clinch a postseason berth on the season.
The team worked together both offensively and defensively to hold the Astros to a score of zero. Players who had major contributions to the win include Kyle Schwarber, Aaron Nola, and Zach Eflin.
Schwarber had no problem adding another two homers to his total for the season. After his first solo home run of the game, which put the Phillies on the board, Schwarber became the first Phillie to reach 45 homers since 2009. But he didn’t stop there. By the top of the eight he crushed a 389 foot homer into right field capping the Phillies off at a total of 3 runs to secure the win.
On the pitching end Nola and Eflin excelled. Aaron Nola pitched a perfect game up until the seventh while Zach Eflin pitched a perfect ninth. This was Eflins first MLB career save.
The road to getting to this point has not been easy for the team. They had a 22-29 start in the beginning of the season and they even had a two month run without star player Bryce Harper.
“It hasn’t been an easy season for us. We went through people saying that our season’s over, that don’t even count the Phillies in, and they can’t catch the baseball.”
Philadelphia proved that October is their opportunity to show the league all they can bring to the table. If they can push through the tough season they’ve had, they can also step up in the postseason.
