SAN DIEGO - Juan Soto and Josh Hader absorbed most of the attention, but Brandon Drury and Josh Bell were in-season acquisitions of similar importance to the San Diego Padres -- a belief further emphasized by Fernando Tatis Jr.'s ensuing suspension. Bell and Drury represented key power bats in the middle of the lineup, a key source of protection for Soto and Manny Machado. And on Wednesday, with the Padres in desperate need of a victory, their bats finally came alive.
Drury and Bell, struggling all postseason and for most of their Padres tenure, combined for five hits and drove in five runs in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series, keying an 8-5, come-from-behind victory over the Philadelphia Phillies to earn a split from Petco Park.