October 20, 2022
Kate Frese/For PhillyVoice
The Phillie Phanatic during the September 20 game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Citizens Bank Park.
Things may be a bit gloomy in Philadelphia following the Phillies' blown four-run lead against the Padres in Game 2 of the NLCS. I get that. A split in San Diego was the goal going into the NLCS and the Fightins accomplished that, but having an early 4-0 lead with Aaron Nola on the mound go down the drain certainly stings. I get it if Phils fans are angry right now.
The Phillies have stolen home-field advantage though and Citizens Bank Park should have a phenomenal atmosphere Friday through Sunday for Games 3, 4 and 5. It's a great time to be a Philadelphian.
On the Phillies' day off for travel, I'm going to look at the latest news and notes about this potentially World Series-bound squad:
It's a cliche at this point to complain about the double standard Philly fans get when other cities and fan bases act like idiots. Imagine the uproar if there was a mural in this city of the Phillie Phanatic violently stomping the San Diego Chicken. It would have lazy sportswriters' brains in a pretzel. Yet there it was, a mural out in San Diego this week of their chicken doing just that to the iconic Phanatic:
The San Diego Chicken stomping on the Phillie Phanatic. Someone also left flowers for the Phanatic.
— Pat Gallen (@PatGallenCBS3) October 18, 2022
Created by a local mural artist here in San Diego.
Rude! pic.twitter.com/unBsihs9xK
Wisely, the mural has now been painted over:
The controversial @Padres San Diego Chicken mural beating up the #PhilliePhanatic is GONE from the side of Tivoli Bar & Grill.
— Jacob Aere (@JacobAere) October 18, 2022
It comes less than a day after it was put up and just hours before the #NLCS begins.
More to come on @KPBSnews #CaptureTheMoment #padres pic.twitter.com/t348OmLlpx
The San Diego crowd was living it up when the Padres exploded for a huge five-run fifth inning on Wednesday. That energy should be matched (I'd bank on it being exceeded) when the Phils return home on Friday. There are similar vibes between how these fan bases have gotten into their teams' respective playoff runs. Those similarities carry over to the field of play too, writes Tyler Kepner:
“Our crowd feels like they’re in the box with us,” said Josh Bell, the Padres’ designated hitter on Wednesday, who was 3 for 4 with a homer. “It was a lot of fun.”
The Phillies should have fun of their own when the series shifts to Citizens Bank Park for Game 3 on Friday, and it may seem familiar.
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The teams have more substantive similarities, too. Both made the playoffs as wild-card teams with fewer than 90 victories, and both lineups revolve around a 30-year-old slugger with a contract worth at least $300 million — Bryce Harper, who homered in Game 1 for the Phillies, and Manny Machado, who connected in Game 2 for the Padres.
Both hitters are thriving in October. Harper has an extra-base hit in each of his last seven games, matching Devon White (1993) and Carlos Beltrán (2004) for the longest streak in a single postseason. Machado, likewise, has been central to the Padres’ success: he is hitting .435 in their playoff wins and .083 in their losses. [NYT]
I wrote last weekend about "The Rebirth of Citizens Bank Park," how the Phils' stadium rocked like it hasn't in almost a dozen years. That was just for the NLDS though. I'm eager to see how the fans go wild when a trip to the World Series is on the line. Our own Evan Macy broke down the "Built or bought?" argument on how each of the Phillies and Padres constructed their rosters too if you want a Philly spin on things (and why wouldn't you?).
Stop me if you've heard this one before: Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola's brother Austin plays for the Padres. It must be a weird feeling for the Nola boys' parents to watch their sons battle for a trip to the Fall Classic. Matt Breen from the Philadelphia Inquirer has more on how their folks felt during Game 2 of the NLCS:
A.J. Nola didn’t know Wednesday afternoon how to react. His sons — Aaron and Austin — were the first brothers to match up as a pitcher and hitter in a postseason game. And now one was standing on first base after an RBI single and one was on the mound as a rally began to build.
“I had no emotion,” said A.J. Nola after staring blankly at the field while everyone around him cheered in the fifth inning of the Phillies’ 8-5 loss to the Padres in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series. “I’m going to get kicked in the leg all night by my wife like ‘Why didn’t you clap?’” [Inquirer]
I don't have any kids. If I did, I'd doubt they'd both be high-level professional athletes. It's a lose-lose situation for the Nolas.
This is just coming straight from me...
I'm sure people in Delaware Valley don't love that former Braves Cy Young winner John Smoltz is calling this series for FOX Sports. Though Troy Aikman is pretty damn good at his job, it's the baseball equivalent of that given the historic rivalry at hand. I couldn't help but feel like I was watching a Padres broadcast on Wednesday though. Do they just want to spend late October in San Diego instead of dealing with Philadelphia weather and its rabid fan base? Maybe! That's not how it should be though.
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