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Phillies win 7-1, advance to NLDS
The Phillies will now meet up with the Braves in the NLDS. The Marlins will go home for the winter.
Phillies vs. Marlins score, highlights: Bryson Stott's grand slam finishes sweep, sets up rematch with Braves
The Phillies are moving on to face the Braves in the NLDS for the second year in a row
The Philadelphia Phillies are back in the NLDS. The reigning National League champions finished off a two-game sweep of the Marlins on Wednesday night as Bryson Stott's grand slam made it a comfortable 7-1 win. The Phillies will face the Braves in an NLDS rematch starting Saturday.
J.T. Realmuto also homered for the Phillies, who were up 3-0 when Stott blasted a 412-foot shot off Andrew Nardi in the sixth inning. Aaron Nola pitched seven scoreless innings, marking the second year in a row he was on the mound with a strong effort as the Phillies won the Wild Card Series (he pitched 6 2/3 scoreless innings against the Cardinals last season).
Now, here are four takeaways from Game 2.
1. Nola was on dealing
Aaron Nola had an uneven regular season. In 32 starts, he amassed a 4.46 ERA (96 ERA+) and a 4.49 strikeout-to-walk ratio. You wouldn't know it based on how he pitched on Wednesday night.
Rather, Nola had an outstanding start, doing his part to put away the Marlins. He threw seven shutout frames, surrendering just three hits and a walk. He struck out three batters, and he generated a game-high 10 swinging strikes on 41 swings.
The Phillies' two starters this series, Nola and Wheeler, combined to allow one run in 13 2/3 innings. That'll play. The Phillies seem likely to turn to Ranger Suárez for Game 1 of the NLDS, but Wheeler and Nola should be slated to throw Games 2 and 3 of that series.
2. Stott joins the Flyin' Hawaiian
As with Game 1, the Phillies received contributions up and down the lineup. Kyle Schwarber and Trea Turner opened up the scoring, and J.T. Realmuto later launched the first home run of the series. That would not be the last home run of the series, though.
In the sixth inning, Phillies second baseman Bryson Stott broke the game open with a grand slam against reliever Andrew Nardi that gave Philadelphia a seven-run lead and sent Citizens Bank Park into a frenzy. Take a look:
According to Statcast, Stott's blast had an exit velocity of 102.4 mph and traveled 412 feet. It would have been a home run in 29 of the 30 ballparks.
Stott has never hit a grand slam during the regular season. This marks the second grand slam in Phillies postseason history. Previously, Shane Victorino hit one in 2008. Victorino was happy to have another member join the Phillies Playoff Grand Slam Club.
3. Braves rematch looms
The Phillies will now advance to the NLDS for a rematch of last year's series against the Atlanta Braves, the overall top seed in the postseason. The Phillies took that best-of-five series in four games en route to winning the NL pennant in 2022. The Braves notched 104 wins in the regular season this year, and went 8-5 against the Phillies. That series will begin play on Saturday in Atlanta. The Braves have opened as -175 favorites.
4. Marlins' season comes to an end
On the flip side, the Marlins will head into the offseason following an 84-win year that saw them make the playoffs for the first time in a regulation-length season since 2003. The Marlins can only wonder how things might have played out if Sandy Alcantara and Eury Pérez had been available to pitch in the Wild Card Series.
That isn't to suggest Game 2 starter Braxton Garrett was to blame for the loss. He did, however, bleed velocity on Wednesday night. Manager Skip Schumaker removed Garrett after the third inning, opting for a bullpen-heavy approach. That didn't go according to plan (former Phillie David Robertson allowed the homer to Realmuto, the first batter he faced), and now the Marlins will have the winter to rethink their approach.
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Phillies three outs away
We're through 7.5 innings here at CBP. The Phillies are three outs away from moving on to the NLDS. Rookie Orion Kerkering just made his playoff debut and had a 1-2-3 inning. The day of Wild Card Series sweeps is about to wrap up, and the bracket for the LDS will be set.
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It's basically just party time in Citizens Bank Park at this point. 7-0 Phillies, Marlins' bullpen is in tatters. Phillies have two on.
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Stott slam breaks it wide open
It's 7-0 Phillies. Bryson Stott just smoked a grand slam in the sixth inning against Andrew Nardi. He hit the first pitch he saw 412 feet. It was 102.4 miles per hour off the bat. The Phillies have a 99.4% chance of winning this game and moving on to face the Braves.
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Nola through six scoreless
He has only faced one more batter than the minimum. Nola plunked Jon Berti to start the sixth, but Jacob Stallings grounded into a double play and Luis Arraez flew out. Nola has 18 outs on 70 pitches. The Phillies are nine outs from a date with the Braves.
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Marlins threaten, but Nola escapes
The Marlins put two men on base in the fifth, including their first walk of the series. But Jesús Sánchez grounded into an inning-ending double play to end the threat. Aaron Nola is through five scoreless innings on 61 pitches and has faced only one over the minimum.
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Realmuto home run extends Phillies' lead
J.T. Realmuto gave the Phillies a 3-0 advantage over the Marlins in the fourth inning with a home run off former teammate David Robertson. It was the first home run of the series for either team.
Here's a look at the blast in all its moving picture glory:
According to Statcast, Realmuto's blast had a 110 mph exit velocity and a 404 foot distance.
The Phillies will advance to the NLDS against the Atlanta Braves with a victory.
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Phillies on the board
Kyle Schwarber smokes a double down the right-field line as Christian Pache (who led off the third inning with a walk) scores.
Trea Turner, the next batter, made it 2-0 with an RBI single off Braxton Garrett. Literally.
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Berti picked off
Jon Berti roped a double (off Christian Pache's glove) in the left-center gap for their first hit of the night. On second with one out, however, Berti got picked off as he got too far off second base. Nola caught him in a rundown and threw him out at third. Take a look:
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Two more Ks for Garrett
JT Realmuto gets the game's first hit with a sharp double down the right-field line, but Braxton Garrett gets out of trouble. The lefty gets two more strikeouts in the inning -- including getting Bryson Stott looking to end the inning -- and now has four through two innings.
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De La Cruz to the warning track
Phillies fans got a scare to end the top of the second inning as Bryan De La Cruz sent a ball 365 feet to the warning track in left-center field. Christian Pache made the grab on the ball that would've been a home run in only one MLB stadium (Wrigley Field), per Statcast.
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Quiet first for Garrett
Great first frame for the Marlins' lefty, who strikes out Kyle Schwarber and Trea Turner in a 1-2-3 inning of his own. Scwharber thought he walked on a borderline 3-1 pitch, but Garrett came back to strike him out. There have been 24 strikeouts and just one walk so far in this series between the two teams.
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1-2-3 first inning for Nola
The Phillies righty retires the side in order and strikes out Jorge Soler and Josh Bell in the process. He got Bell on an 81-mph knucklecurve. Braxton Garrett heads to the mound for the Marlins.
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Jamie Moyer throws out first pitch
And he does it in style. One of the rotation fixtures of the 2008 Phillies, Moyer tossed the first pitch to catcher Garrett Stubbs, who has popularized overalls in recent weeks in Philadelphia. Moyer rocked a red/white striped pair with the Phanatic on the chest.
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Will we get a homer tonight?
Neither team went yard in a low-scoring game. In fact, until the eighth inning last night, the longest hit ball of the night was a 312-foot flyout off the bat of Johan Rojas. The Phillies ranked eighth in baseball with 220 home runs in 2023, while the Marlins were 22nd with 166 bombs.
Here are the players with the best odds to homer Wednesday night:
- Jorge Soler: +305
- Trea Turner: +320
- Kyle Schwarber: +330
- Jazz Chisholm Jr.: +360
- Josh Bell: +375
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Home-field advantage
The Phillies, who did not make the playoffs from 2012-2021, have enjoyed playing postseason baseball back at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies are now 7-2 in home playoff games since the start of last October. The two losses came in back-to-back games against the Astros in the World Series last year.
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Wheeler on the atmosphere
Zack Wheeler threw 6 2/3 innings of one-run ball and notched eight strikeouts for the Phillies in Game 1. Aaron Nola, who had a disappointing regular season, will try to follow suit tonight.
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A nice ring to it
No, Nick Castellanos did not flip off his own dugout last night. "Why would I flip off my teammates? I love them," he said afterward, explaining his new ring-finger celebration. We'll see if it catches on in South Philly.
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Nola a prospective free agent
For those watching who are unbiased observers, it should be noted that Nola will be a free agent this winter. CBS Sports recently ranked him as the No. 5 player in the class. I talked with several front-office talent evaluators who had him ranked higher on their preference list than potential Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell. You can click here to read why, as well as to check out the rest of our initial rankings.
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Phillies-Marlins Game 2 info
- Date: Wednesday, Oct. 4 | Time: 8:08 p.m. ET
- Location: Citizens Bank Park (Philadelphia)
- TV channel: ESPN | Live stream: fubo (try for free)
- Starting pitchers: LHP Braxton Garrett (9-7, 3.66 ERA) vs. RHP Aaron Nola (12-9, 4.46 ERA)
- Odds: PHI -160 | MIA +125 | O/U: 8
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Hello from CBP 👋
We're about 80 minutes away from first pitch at Citizens Bank Park. The Marlins just left the field after batting practice to a chorus of boos after the fans in left field were dissatisfied with how many balls the Fish threw to the crowd during BP. It'll be another noisy night in South Philly. Aaron Nola vs. Braxton Garrett is the pitching matchup. The Phillies advance to the NLDS to face the Braves for the second year in a row with a win.
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Welcome to our Game 2 coverage
The stakes are straightforward after the Phillies' victory last night. Let's lay them out in a handy bulletpoint format:
- If the Phillies win: They advance to play the Braves in the NLDS. That would be a rematch of last year's NLDS.
- If the Marlins win: They force a Game 3 on Thursday. The winner of that game would then advance to play the Braves.
Easy enough, right? First pitch is about 75 minutes away.
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