Once again, we’re bypassing our regular Weird and Wild programming, after another very Weird, very Wild day of baseball in the town where I reside, Philadelphia. So sit back and let this Weird and Wild column transport you to the inner sanctum of NLDS Game 4 in South Philadelphia — Phillies 8, Braves 3.
It was the game that ended the World Series champions’ season. It was a game that sent the Phillies rocketing onward to an NLCS no one saw coming as recently as two weeks ago — except possibly them.
PHILADELPHIA — The baseball earthquake that had rocked Citizens Bank Park all day Saturday was at full Philadelphia crescendo. … It was 5:25 p.m. ET was the loudest corner in South Philly. … Red towels spun in the late-afternoon glare. … Forty thousand cell phones were on video mode and rolling. … Seranthony DomínguezHe held the baseball in one hand. … The once-unthinkable was about to happen.
One final 99.7 mph sinker would dive bomb towards home plate. … Travis d’Arnaud’s final, desperate, two-strike hack made contact with nothing but the fresh afternoon breeze. … And somehow, as a hug parade erupted all around them and fireworks filled the sky, the Phillies were the last National League East team standing.
Baseball! It’s a weird game, all right. It’s also very wild.
But that’s why we watch. Join us as we examine some of the most bizarre twists and turns that shaped this series, this game, and this postseason in 2022.
1.
