The Philadelphia Phillies are headed to the NLDS to take on the Atlanta Braves, assuring themselves of a spot after they swept the NL Wild Card round over the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium on Saturday night. The 2-0 win for the Phillies means they will now get a crack at their division rivals again. Aaron Nola pitched about as well as you’d have expected, going 6 2/3 without conceding a run while allowing just four hits.
Bryce Harper’s solo homer in the top of the second and Kyle Schwarber’s sac fly in the fifth were the only offense needed, and now the Phillies can make travel arrangements for Atlanta. Elsewhere, the New York Mets made sure they kept the NL East’s chances of having three teams in the NLDS alive by defeating the San Diego Padres 7-3 in a must-win Game 2 on Saturday evening. Jacob deGrom got the win after giving up two earned runs in six frames and both Pete Alonso and Francisco Lindor hit homers for the hosts. Jeff McNeil’s two-run double in the seventh, part of a four-run inning, effectively killed the game off, and it means Citi Field will welcome a decisive Game 3 on Sunday night to see who goes on to face the Dodgers in the NLDS.
