After a decadelong playoff disappearance, high hopes greeted by mediocre results and the sinking feeling they might be looking up at the class of their division for a while, the Philadelphia Phillies have returned to their once-expected place: The National League Championship Series.
With perhaps October’s most intimidating and raucous surroundings egging them on, the Phillies completed a four-game Division Series conquest of the Atlanta Braves with a 8-3 victory Saturday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park, which once again is the City of Brotherly Love’s hottest autumn destination.
The Phillies, granted a playoff berth only because Major League Baseball opted to expand the field and add a third wild card this season, eliminated the defending World Series champion Braves, who won 101 games in the regular season to Philadelphia’s 87.