October 09, 2022
Edmundo Sosa caught the final out by the Phillies' dugout and the celebration picked up right where it left off.
The Phils beat the Cardinals in St. Louis Saturday night 2-0, clinching the series 2-0 and exercising the demons from 11 years ago.
The postseason run is moving on to the NLDS, the rival and defending champion Atlanta Braves, and for one game at least, what will be an absolutely electric Citizens Bank Park.
Red October is on, and after Games 1 and 2 down in Atlanta, will be coming home on Friday.
The moment.
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) October 9, 2022
The Franzke call.
This is everything.#RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/zZ6pHHuoyo
It's been a long time coming, both this past month alone and this past decade. Here's what they're saying:
If there's any player that embodies how far the Phillies have come since April, it's Alec Bohm.
Six months ago, he made three ugly throwing errors then got caught on camera uttering "I f---ing hate this place" under a wave of sarcastic cheers.
On Saturday night, he was making Gold-Glove level plays at the hot corner all game, including a snag of a complete missile off the bat from Nolan Arenado in the fourth.
Alec Bohm are you serious omg pic.twitter.com/ddiX1baJyB
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) October 9, 2022
While speaking to MLB Network's Laura Gardner postgame, Phillies fans were lined up behind the dugout chanting Bohm's name. Make no mistake, "I love this place," he said.
"My first two years here didn't go great, but here we are," Bohm said. "It's anything you could ask for."
"I love this place." 🥲
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) October 9, 2022
Alec Bohm and the @Phillies are moving on to face the rival Braves in the NLDS!#RingTheBell | @LGRed pic.twitter.com/QSUjWxgGJT
If you watched either of the two ESPN broadcasts the past couple of days, you've no doubt heard relentlessly about the Cardinals and Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina's (maybe Adam Wainwright's) farewell tour.
Both had base hits Saturday night that made Phillies fans everywhere hold their breath, but they ultimately proved harmless.
In relief of Aaron Nola, who rose to the occasion once again, José Alvarado, Seranthony Domínguez, and Zach Eflin locked everything down to preserve the shutout.
After two extra games, an era of Cardinals baseball came to a swift end while a new one for the Phillies may just be getting udnerway.
Wrote The Athletic's Katie Woo from the other side of the Phils-Cards series:
It wasn’t supposed to end like this.
Over the course of 162 games, the Cardinals designed their own modern-day storybook, with every month presenting a new chapter that was somehow even more exciting than the one before. Each storyline introduced a different protagonist: A respected leader behind the plate for one final season. An MVP candidate at both corner infield positions. A rookie manager at the helm. A former injured reliever turned dominant closer. A beloved franchise icon, committed to playing one final season, back where it all began. Records were reestablished, accolades achieved and careers celebrated in a season fueled first by nostalgia but ultimately by the invigorating realization of this team believing it had the talent and the determination to win it all.
Yes, the Cardinals had no issue writing a fairytale in the regular season. But when it came down to the postseason, they ended up writing their own eulogy. [The Athletic]
Sounds a bit familiar no?
Again, some demons from 2011 got exercised Saturday night.
The rally towels will finally be out when the Phillies return home for Game 3 on Friday night, but they won't be white like when they were last seen from 2007-2011.
Due to an MLB rule change made during the Phils' postseason drought, white towels are banned. They'll be red instead.
Via The Philadelphia Inquirer's Matt Breen:
Rally towels will return to Citizens Bank Park on Friday. But they’ll be red this year. An MLB rule change during the Phillies playoff drought now bans white towels.
— Matt Breen (@matt_breen) October 9, 2022
A bit more context: In 2016, MLB made the call to prohibit white rally towels so players wouldn't lose track of the baseball. The change was first noticed with the Blue Jays' home opener that season and now it's hitting the Phils six years later.
A bummer maybe, but Rhys Hoskins doesn't seem to mind it too much.
Via The Inquirer's Scott Lauber:
Rhys Hoskins was up on the new rally towels rules last night. “I wish they could bring the white towels back,” he said. “I’ll take any towels. They’ll bring ‘em back.” Asked what color he wants to see Friday at CBP, Hoskins just whipped his hand over his head. https://t.co/8811dBctr8
— Scott Lauber (@ScottLauber) October 9, 2022
Hey, at end of the day, those towels are going up no matter what.
"Dancing On My Own" might be the postseason run anthem after the cameras caught the Phillies singing along in the clubhouse celebration.
Franki Rudnesky wrote all about that HERE.
The Phillies all BELTING out Robyn's Dancing On My Own is killing us 😂😭 pic.twitter.com/CObR5RigAj
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) October 9, 2022
The Inquirer's Alex Coffey posted a video of backup catcher and locker-room DJ Garrett Stubbs getting the music ready on Spotify.
DJ Stubbs pic.twitter.com/qtr1AgjfF4
— Alex Coffey (@byalexcoffey) October 9, 2022
Then Crossing Broad's Kyle Pagan went and found Stubbs' profile and the "Phils Win" playlist.
Yeah, Stubbs definitely brings the energy.
Darick Hall with Garrett Stubbs on his shoulders pic.twitter.com/mndshjPwe3
— Alex Coffey (@byalexcoffey) October 9, 2022
The Phils are celebrating, but they're not losing sight either.
Manager Rob Thomson was looking for catcher J.T. Realmuto during his postgame speech.
Realmuto's response before the champagne popped: "11 more, Topper!"
Philly Rob and the fellas
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) October 9, 2022
(P.S. he took the cork off this time) pic.twitter.com/XbIKvLSmnZ
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