October 07, 2022
It feels like ages since the Phillies have been relevant in October, something fans once took for granted during the golden years of the late 2000s and early 2010s.
But after an 11-year postseason drought, Philadelphia will get a taste of playoff baseball Friday afternoon as the Phils visit the St. Louis Cardinals for a best-of-three series in the National League Wild Card round.
On Friday morning, the Phillies released a hype video to get fans ready for the excitement of a playoff atmosphere. It's narrated by Ryan Howard and Jimmy Rollins, who helped the Phils end the city's championship drought in 2008.
Naturally, the video builds on the idea that Philadelphia has grown accustomed to missing the postseason, but the team kept fighting this year through a coaching change, injuries, doubt and all kinds of adversity.
Own it. Embrace it. Believe it.
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) October 7, 2022
Welcome to #RedOctober. pic.twitter.com/meVzc5Ynru
the fightins. pic.twitter.com/T5HTALinhi
— Absolutely Hammered (@AH_Pod) October 7, 2022
The Phillies are clear beneficiaries of baseball's expanded playoff format, a move that was a long time coming to get more fans invested in the grind of a long MLB season. It's a change that also favors the unique momentum of baseball. A team that's hot, even if they're a bottom seed, has the potential to make a deep run through the three-game and five-game rounds. From there, anything can happen.
The Wild Card series will be played entirely in St. Louis, beginning with Friday's game at 2:07 p.m.. Game 2 will be played 8:37 p.m. Saturday. Game 3, if necessary, is tentatively slated to begin at 8:37 p.m. but could change based on the outcomes of the other Wild Card series.
