Bryce Harper couldn’t stop gushing about the home crowd in Game 3. Imagine a Game 4 clinch?
Harper was buzzing about the fans after the first home playoff game since 2011. "I hope it’s like that for the next two weeks.”
A half hour after the final out, Bryce Harper was still buzzing. Sitting behind a table in the postgame interview room, his red Phillies snapback hat turned backwards atop his head, the slugger looked down in amazement at the goosebumps on his arms.
“I mean, the crowd tonight was incredible,” Harper said after the Phillies’ set up a potential Game 4 clinch with a 9-1 win over the Braves in the first postseason game Citizens Bank Park in 11 years. “Absolutely insane. Electric. Nothing that I could have ever dreamed about. It was whoa. It was chills again because that was unbelievably cool. I hope it’s like that for the next two weeks.”
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Yes, he said two weeks. Yes, he said it intentionally. And, right now, you have to believe he means it.
How could he not after a remarkable Friday night that saw a sold-out crowd combust for eight-and-a-half innings as the Phillies pounced on the Braves and never let up? The energy reached hysterical levels long before Rhys Hoskins’ three-run home run broke the game open in the fourth inning, aided in part by Shane Victorino’s ceremonial first pitch and the accompanying video board clip of the Phillies legend’s grand slam off of CC Sabathia in Game 2 of the National League Division Series.
“God, it was loud,” Hoskins said.
“So loud,” Harper concurred.
Can it make a difference in Game 4? It certainly can’t hurt. History tells a mixed tale about potential clinchers at Citizens Bank Park. Their most recent attempt ended with a 1-0 loss to the Cardinals in a do-or-die Game 5 in 2011 that cost them a fourth straight trip to the NLCS. In 2008, they clinched the World Series at home against the Rays. One year later, they clinched the National League championship at home against the Dodgers.
As for this year’s team, they sure look and act like the type that will continue to feed off the kind of electricity that pulsed through the ballpark in Game 3 on Friday night.
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“For us to come back here and take the home-field advantage away from Atlanta at home and come back here, win Game 1 here, is huge,” Harper said. “And we have an opportunity to clinch [Saturday]. We’re excited about that opportunity [Saturday]. We can’t wait. Excited to be back home in front of this fan base. Like I said, we want to be able to do this for the next two weeks.”
They’ll need a big start from veteran righty Noah Syndergaard. He is a different pitcher now than the one who helped lead the Mets to the World Series in 2015 and has a 2.52 ERA in four career postseason starts. But he’ll be facing a starter in Charlie Morton who allowed 17 runs in 26⅓ innings against the Phillies during the regular season. Besides, if the crowd is anything like it was in Game 3, he might start throwing 100 mph again.
“It was awesome,” said Nola, who joined the Phillies in 2015 and ranks in the team’s top 10 all-time in starts and strikeouts. “It’s been a while since we’ve been in the playoffs here, obviously. And to see the fans like what they were tonight is awesome. The hitters, what they did tonight as well, just sparked it up even more, in my opinion. It’s a fun night, and it’s a great team win right there.”