Joel Wilson – Staff Writer

jnw5443@psu.edu

It was a week full of surprises for baseball fans following the National League Division Series.
The first of these upsets came from the Philadelphia Phillies and the Atlanta Braves. Atlanta
came into the 2022 season hoping to repeat as champions. After trailing the Mets in the
standings for almost the entire season, the Braves turned themselves around and won the
National League East.
Throughout the New York-Atlanta divisional race, the Phillies silently put together a good
season, punching their first postseason ticket since 2011. After sweeping the Cardinals in the
Wild Card round, the Phillies headed south to face the favored Braves. Philadelphia won the
first game on the backs of Bryce Harper and Nick Castellanos, who went 3-3 with a run scored
and 3-5 with 3 RBIs respectively. Atlanta rallied to win game 2 by a score of 3-0 and promptly
sent the series back to being tied with the Keystone State.
The fans in Philadelphia created an electric atmosphere to welcome their club back home. With
a packed house, the Phillies put together a 6-run third inning, the highlight of which was a Rhys
Hoskins three run blast accompanied by a now iconic bat flip. Bryce Harper put together
another impressive performance, going 2-4 with 2 runs, 2 RBIs, and a 2-run homerun.
Another excited crowd packed Citizens Bank Park the next day in hopes of seeing their Phillies
advance to the NLCS for the first time since 2010. They were not disappointed. Atlanta’s Charlie
Morton started the game, surrendering 3 runs on 4 hits in only 2 innings of work. The Braves
bullpen could not stave off the Phillies. Philadelphia won the game 8-3 and the series 3-1.
With the Phillies heading to the next round, all eyes turned west to the city of the Angels to see
who would take the final NLCS spot.
Julio Urias got the starting nod for the Dodgers in game 1. He pitched 5 innings and surrendered
only 3 runs. The Dodgers looked good in the first few innings, jumping to an early 2-0 lead with
the help of a Trae Turner home run. They would tack on 3 additional runs in the 3rd inning. The
Padres rallied for 3 runs of their own in the 5th inning, but ultimately fell to Los Angeles in the
opening game.
With a 1-0 series lead, the Dodgers sent out veteran Clayton Kershaw in an attempt to put L.A.
one win away from yet another appearance in the NLCS. Despite pitching 5 innings, and only
giving up 3 runs, the Dodgers could not get Kershaw a win as they fell 5-3. The Dodger bats
stayed cold as the Padres bullpen shut out the offense over the final 4 frames. The Padres
started Yu Darvish, who pitched 5 innings. Despite shakiness early on, Darvish surrendered only
3 runs and struck out 7. Home runs from San Diego third baseman Manny Machado and second
baseman Jake Cronenworth ensured a tied series heading back to PETCO Park.
Game 3 in San Diego saw Tony Gonsolin take the mound for the Dodgers. Gonsolin was
phenomenal in the regular season going 16-1 with a 2.14 ERA. This success did not continue
into the postseason. All the right hander could muster was 1.1 inning with 4 hits and a run
allowed. Andrew Heaney came on in relief, giving up another run. From there, the Dodger
bullpen settled down and did not allow any more Padres to make it the entire way around the
basepaths.
San Diego went with Blake Snell. Snell had a rough regular season going 8-10 with a 3.38 ERA.
Like Gonsolin, the regular season did not translate to the playoffs. Snell went 5.1 innings giving
up 5 hits, 1 run, and struck out 6. It was reminiscent of his masterful performance with Tampa

Bay the Dodgers in game 6 of the 2020 World Series, which was cut short by manager Kevin
Cash. San Diego won by a final score of 2-1.
Game 4 was delayed due to a rare rainstorm in Southern California. The San Diegans in the
ballpark did not care, however, as PETCO Park was packed yet again. Reliable left hander Tyler
Anderson started for Los Angeles. He would pitch 5 shutout innings with 6 K’s. Dodger first
baseman Freddie Freeman put his team on top in the third with a 3-run double down the line in
right, scoring Mookie Betts and Trae Turner. A sacrifice fly in the top of the 7th inning by
catcher Will Smith, who had driven back to Los Angeles the morning of game 4 to witness the
birth of his first child, put the Dodgers up 3-0. This lead did not hold.
Tommy Kahnle came into the game in the bottom of the 7th inning and promptly walked the
leadoff hitter, Jurickson Profar. Trent Grisham singled, sending Profar to third. Austin Nola was
next up to the plate. He singled, scoring Profar, and making it a 3-1 game. Kahnle was pulled in
favor of Yency Almonte. A Ha-Seong Kim double, followed by a Juan Soto Single tied the game
at 3. Almonte was then relieved by Alex Vesia, who gave up a go-ahead 2-run single to Jake
Cronenworth.
San Diego’s bullpen kept the Dodgers hitless over the final 2 innings. Josh Hader struck out the
side in the 9th inning, sending the Padres to their first NLCS since 1998.
The Padres will host the Phillies in game one of the NLCS on Tuesday October 18.
The next Dodger game will be February 25, 2023, against the Milwaukee Brewers.