This weekend, the first place Atlanta Braves come to Citizens Bank Park to take on a struggling Phillies team that is falling short in virtually every phase of the game. It’s been a rough go for the Phils, losers of their last three home series, a shocking development given they only lost three home series all last season.
Still, the Braves often serve as an elixir of sorts when the come to Philly. Atlanta has struggled at Citizens Bank Park over the last few years, 5-9 in Philadelphia over the last two
seasons. And while this weekend’s clash is viewed as a marquee match-up, with two nationally televised games Saturday night on Fox and Sunday night on Peacock, they don’t hold a candle to some of the most recent postseason series these two teams have played against one another.
Of course, nothing will ever top the 1993 National League Championship Series. Watching John Kruk, Lenny Dykstra and Curt Schilling somehow find a way to outlast a 100+ win Braves team to advance to the World Series will be almost impossible to top.
But most recently, the underdog Phillies dominated Atlanta in two straight NLDS series. Both mirrored each other so closely and were filled with some of the greatest moments in franchise playoff history.
As we get ready for what will hopefully be a get-right weekend against the Braves in Philly, let’s improve the vibes a bit by remembering two series against our division rivals in which the Phils stepped up their game and sent a “superior” team home early for the winter.
2022 NLDS
After a surprising two-game sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Wild Card round, the Phillies entered Atlanta with absolutely no expectations of winning the series. After all, the Phils had barely snuck into the tournament as the third wild card, clinching on the final weekend and only thanks to an implosion by Milwaukee in the season’s final week.
With just 87 wins, the underdog Phillies finished 14 games behind the 101-win Braves. Atlanta had a run differential of +180, the Phils’ was +62. The Phils began the series by playing their 13th and 14th straight games on the road (they finished the regular season with an 10-game, three city road trip with two straight wild card games in St. Louis). However, fueled by jet fumes, adrenaline and Nick Castellanos’ three-hit, three-RBI day, the Phillies survived a late Atlanta rally to win 7-6. Of course, Castellanos’ game-saving slide in the 9th is the lasting memory.
The Phils lost Game 2 then came home for Games 3 and 4, the first postseason games at Citizens Bank Park since 2011.
Of course, the lasting memory from that series occurred in the 3rd inning against Spencer Strider, one of the most electric moments in CBP history.
Bryce Harper followed with a solo homer he murdered to deep right field, the offense added on, Aaron Nola shoved, and the Phils took a 2-1 series lead with a dominant 9-1 victory.
And the finally, in Game 4, the Phillies took advantage of an early Brandon Marsh 3-run home run and the early injury exit of Charlie Morton to crush Atlanta once again, 8-3. Of course, J.T. Realmuto’s inside-the-park home run added another log to the legendary fire of this series.
It would be hard to top the excitement and pure elation of this series, but the Phils did a pretty good job of copying it the following season.
2023 NLDS
After sweeping the Miami Marlins in two wild card games at CBP, the Phils met the Braves once again in the NLDS. Atlanta, again, was the division winner while the Phillies were the top wild card team, but the distance between the two in the NL East standings was the same.
Powered by one of the most productive offenses in MLB history, Atlanta slugged their way to an MLB-best 104 wins, besting the 90-win Phillies by 14 games in the division once again. But clearly, the Phils were in their head.
In Game 1, Bryce Harper went yard and seven Phillies pitchers combined to give up five hits and eked out a 3-0 victory over Spencer Strider, the NL Cy Young Award winner that season, surprising everyone with a quick 1-0 series lead.
It looked like they would take both games in Atlanta after jumping out to a 4-0 lead, but the Braves scored five runs in the 6th, 7th and 8th innings, the final two coming on a crushing Austin Riley two-run homer off Jeff Hoffman in the bottom of the 8th. And then, the craziness of the 9th inning, when Harper was doubled off first to end the game.
It was a painful moment as it happened, but it only set the stage for one of the greatest individual, in-your-face performances in Harper’s career. After Orlando Arcia was overheard in the clubhouse ridiculing Harper for getting doubled off first, Bryce decided to make it personal in Game 3.
Orlando Arcia and the Braves were officially in hell now, and would only experience another, deeper level a few innings later.
The Phillies destroyed Bryce Elder, Castellanos hit two bombs, and Nola once again stifled the Braves’ potent bats in a 10-2 rout.
Game 4 was closer, with Strider at his peak and Ranger Suarez trying to match him pitch-for-pitch. Suarez held Atlanta to one run over five innings, while the Phillies pecked away at Strider thanks to a Trea Turner home run and another multi-homer game from Castellanos, who was in the midst of the high point of his Phils career.
But it got sticky in the 7th. Holding a slim 3-1 lead, human fire starter Craig Kimbrel entered an loaded the bases with two outs. NL MVP Ronald Acuna Jr. stepped to the plate, looking to atone for a very quiet NLDS. With the count 2-2, Kimbrel left one out of the plate that Acuna destroyed to center field.
That’s when Johan Rojas entered the chat.
The Phillies finished the job in the 8th and 9th and took another NLDS from the heavily-favored Atlanta Braves.
Unfortunately, neither series led to a championship. The Phils would reach the World Series in 2022, but fell to the Astros in six games, and then collapsed following Game 2 of the NLCS against the Diamondbacks in ‘23.
They’ve never been the same since. But we have the memories of these Atlanta beatdowns in October.
So, which one is your favorite?
