The Philadelphia Phillies reach the NLCS. Oct 15, 2022; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies players celebrate winning the series over the Atlanta Braves in game four of the NLDS for the 2022 MLB Playoffs at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
By Matt Clapp on

The Philadelphia Phillies are going to the National League Championship Series, and they knocked out the defending champions to get there.

Philadelphia beat the Atlanta Braves 8-3 in Game 4 of the NLDS on Saturday to win the series 3-1.

The Phillies hit three homers, including an inside-the-park homer from catcher J.T. Realmuto. Brandon Marsh hit a three-run homer in the second inning, and Bryce Harper added a solo shot in the eighth.

It’s the first NLCS appearance for the Phillies since 2010. They now wait to see if they’ll face the San Diego Padres or Los Angeles Dodgers (San Diego is up 2-1 in that series, and the Dodgers entered the postseason as World Series title favorites).

And it’s a pretty remarkable run for a Phillies team that finished in third place in the NL East and had some major defensive and bullpen concerns. The Phillies won 87 games in the regular season, finishing 14 games behind both the Braves (who won the division via tiebreaker) and New York Mets. The Mets were eliminated by the Padres in the NL Wild Card Series.

So, stunningly, the Phillies are the only NL East team left standing.

Here’s a peek at how the baseball world is reacting to the Phillies reaching the NLCS:

About Matt Clapp

Matt is an editor/writer at Awful Announcing and The Comeback.

He can be reached by email at mclapp@awfulannouncing.com.

View all posts by Matt Clapp