Beat The Braves And Punch World Series Ticket: Philly Sports Chatter

PHILADELPHIA, PA —They are the World Series champions. They’re a team with top talent that few teams can match. They also seem to have the number of the Philadelphia Phillies.

Throw all of that out the window. This is October. And although this isn’t March Madness, there’s always a Cinderella in the baseball playoffs every year.

Maybe that’s the Seattle Mariners. Or maybe it’s the Phillies.

As the Phillies start the National League Division Series against the Braves Tuesday, this team is playing with house money.

Few figured they’d even make the playoffs after a sinking September. Even fewer believed they would beat the St. Louis Cardinals. But those Cards have been decked in a clean sweep right out of the Wild Card round.

Bring on the Braves.

Yes, those Braves beat the Phillies 11 of 19 times during the regular season.

But the season is over and these are the playoffs. And most teams that win the World Series one year usually don’t get back there the next.

These Phillies are playing with confidence. A six-run, 9th inning comeback will give any team confidence. See what the Mariners did to the Toronto Blue Jays.

Comebacks are magical. But momentum has just as much to do with the magic. And the Phillies have that now.

The Phillies, though, might not want to come home.

By the time they face the Braves in Game 3 at Citizens Bank Park, they will have been on the road for 17 days and in five cities. That’s a lot of airline miles.

But fans will be waiting.

This team hasn’t hosted a home playoff game in forever. So there will be a strong showing of red.

And if anyone thinks Philly fans are rough during the regular season, they’re another animal during the playoffs. Think Godzilla.

The Phillies have a rough road ahead.

Being the underdogs, they have to climb a mountain that might seem like Mount Everest. What awaits after the Braves might be the Los Angeles Dodgers, considered the best team in baseball.

But the San Diego Padres play the Dodgers well and could pull off that victory in their playoff series.

The Phillies are climbing. Beat the Braves and that mountain becomes a little less steep. And punching that World Series ticket is so much closer.