On the verge of securing his team’s first National League East division championship since 2011, Phillies manager Rob Thomson summoned Carlos Estévez, the imposing closer that has continued to fill up the strike zone in the second half of the season.
Philadelphia acquired the 6-foot-6-inch right-hander to take down the ninth inning in big spots for the club, giving up two valued prospects in a midseason trade with the Angels to do so. And after Jeff Hoffman, the Phillies’ fireman, finished Friday’s playoff clincher, Monday night was Estévez’s turn to end an important game.
He worked around a walk and a dropped fly ball in left field to throw a scoreless top of the ninth inning, closing out a 6-2 victory over the Chicago Cubs in front of a sellout crowd at Citizens Bank Park.