After moving on from Miami, major challenge awaits Phillies in Atlanta

For the second time in three weeks, players raced onto the field at Citizens Bank Park, granted permission from the baseball gods to behave as immaturely as they wished by virtue of having emerged victorious in a clinching game.

And so, after handily disposing of the Marlins, 7-1, in front of another raucous, roaring sellout crowd the Phillies followed the script that they have all but perfected since their improbable 2022 World Series run last year.

As soon as Gregory Soto recorded the final out by catching Jazz Chisholm Jr. looking at a called third strike, fireworks erupted. The bell tolled. The giant scoreboard above left field posted a brief, elegant summary: MOVING ON. Uniformed personnel gathered behind the mound, congratulating each other and modeling the latest iteration of postseason gear.

The public address system, cranked to the max, blasted “Dancing on my Own” and it seemed as though every one of the 45,738 in attendance  stayed and stood and sang along while waving red rally towels. On deck, of course, was Harry Kalas crooning “High Hopes.”

Inside the clubhouse they whooped and hollered, poured beer on each other and sprayed champagne. The smoke machine that helps set the mood after every victory was augmented by thick cigar smoke.

All because, with that win, they had knocked Miami out of the Wild Card playoffs two games to none to advance to the best-of-five National League Division Series beginning Saturday.

Here’s the thing, though. When a similar scene unfurled on the very same patch of South Philadelphia real estate 21 days earlier, it had been the Atlanta Braves doing the celebrating after locking down their sixth straight NL East title. And it was the Phillies who were the unwilling spectators. Even then, it seemed likely that these teams would meet again in the second round and darned if it hasn’t turned out that way.

To be the best you have to beat the best, Phillies 2008 world championship manager Charlie Manuel liked to say. Well, the Braves won 104 games this season, the most in baseball, which gave them a first-round bye. They’ll be well-rested and are certain to be favored when play begins at Truist Park.

But there’s also this: Many picked the Braves to win it all last season. And they might have, too, if the Phillies hadn’t upset them in the NLDS.

Atlanta went 8-5 against the Phils during the regular season but Rob Thomson doesn’t believe that discrepancy, or the fact that his team finished 14 games behind the Braves, accurately reflect the gap between the clubs.

“I think (we match up) pretty well,” the Phillies manager said. “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, (Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola), they're really pitching well right now. They're on a roll, and hopefully they stay on a roll.

“Atlanta's a good ball club. Don't think that I don't think they're a good ball club. They're really good. So we're facing a tough test. But I think it will be a good series.

“The one thing the Braves did is they played consistent baseball all year long. I mean, from day one, they really didn't go into any large losing streak that I know of, and we struggled getting out of the gate. But I think we're playing very good baseball right now.”

The Phillies hit rock bottom on June 2 with a 25-32 record. They went 65-40 (.619) the rest of the way while Atlanta was 71-34 (.676) in that span.

Said reliever Craig Kimbrel: “We’re good to play whoever’s next and the Atlanta Braves are next. I think we’re going to prepare accordingly and go in and play good baseball. If we keep the same formula as these first two games (against Miami), I think we’ll be all right.”

Added third baseman Alec Bohm: “We’ve got a lot of respect for those guys. It’s a divisional match-up. We play those guys all year long. We’ve got our hands full but we’re going to war with them.”

He doesn’t believe the Phillies are in the Braves’ heads after booting them from the tournament last year. “I don’t think there’s an edge,” he said. “We’ve played each other so much. We’re all familiar with each other. I think it’s just going to be a bunch of really good baseball players on the field playing a game and we’re going to see what happens.”

The first two games will be played Saturday and Monday in Atlanta. Thomson has not announced his starting pitcher for the opener. Games 3 and 4 are set for Citizens Bank Park next Wednesday and Thursday with the decisive game 5 to be played at Truist Park on Saturday, October 14 if needed.

One person with as good a perspective as any on the Phillies-Braves is the manager of the team that lost Wednesday night: Skip Schumaker. The Marlins played a total of 26 games against those two teams this season.

“They're two of the best teams in the Major Leagues,” he said. “Incredibly tough to navigate a lineup, as far as bullpen matchups. There are no holes. They have star power up and down the lineup and are postseason tested.

“The Nola-Wheeler combo right there was as good as you're going to find in the Major Leagues, and their back-end bullpen with (Jose) Alvarado and a playoff tested Kimbrel and (Gregory) Soto throwing 102 mile an hour sinkers. . . They are really tough, and they're coached really, really well.

“Obviously the Braves are, honestly, we didn't really know how to pitch them. I don't think the league did. We were trying everything, and it starts with obviously the top of that middle of the order. There's just -- they make you pay when you make a little bit of a mistake. The run game on both sides are incredible. It's going to come down to bullpen and starting pitching. I think it always does.

“I’m looking forward to watching it. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”