The Philadelphia Phillies won Game 2 of their Wild Card series Wednesday to sweep the Miami Marlins. The team will now advance to the NLDS, where they will face the highly touted Atlanta Braves in a rematch of last year’s NLDS.
There were few points throughout the Wild Card series where the Marlins appeared to be in control, as the Phillies dominated much of the action through the first game, a 4-1 victory, and romped in the second to move on.
After an opening game in which Philadelphia mostly relied on ace Zack Wheeler, who allowed just one run and struck out eight batters in 6.2 innings, the team was more productive at the plate in Game 2. With a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the sixth inning, second baseman Bryson Stott hit a grand slam to extend the Phillies’ lead well beyond reach. They went on to win the game 7-1.
Though the bats woke up in Game 2, the pitching was just as dominant, as starter Aaron Nola allowed just three hits in seven scoreless innings of work. The Marlins never seemed comfortable at the plate, scoring just two runs in the entire series. There’s a team on the Phillies’ horizon, however, that will likely prove more capable.
With 104 wins in the regular season and 307 combined home runs, tied for the all-time record, the Braves are the surefire favorite to win this year’s World Series. Power hitters like Matt Olson, Marcell Ozuna and Ronald Acuna Jr., the first player ever to hit 40 home runs and steal 70 bases, are sure to provide a different challenge for Philadelphia’s pitching. Atlanta has several arms of its own as well, as Spencer Strider could possibly be rejoined by injured starters Max Fried and Charlie Morton in time for the series.
When these two teams faced off last year, both were in a roughly similar position. The Braves were formidable World Series favorites while the Phillies were unlikely underdogs who had squeaked into the playoffs as the sixth seed. But in a massive upset, Philadelphia’s pitching outlasted that of Atlanta and the team took the NLDS in four games. The Phillies went all the way to the World Series before falling to the Houston Astros.
Though both teams are in similar positions, the main difference going into this 2023 matchup is that both contenders have improved since last season. The Braves have finally realized their true potential at the plate, improving on a 101-win season in 2022 and setting multiple team and individual records along the way. The Phillies, meanwhile, added star shortstop Trea Turner in the offseason while retaining most of its talented pitching core.
“I think (we match up) pretty well,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said Wednesday. “They have a great club, don’t sell them short at all. But I think we do match up. I think our offense can go against anybody’s. Our two starters, Wheeler and Nola, they’re really pitching well right now. They’re on a roll, and hopefully, they stay on a roll.”
