4 most outstanding Phillies from Game 4 NLDS-clinching win
With the Phillies dispatching the Braves on Thursday night, who were the key players who helped the team clinch the NLDS in Game 4?
On Thursday night, the Philadelphia Phillies got the job done again on home turf as they eliminated the Atlanta Braves with a 3-1 victory over their division rivals. The Phillies have played some exciting, high-tempo baseball throughout the NLDS, and it seemed like it was inevitable that it would come to this rightfully deserved conclusion, at least in the minds of Phillies fanatics.
Overall, despite solid contributions from throughout the Phillies’ lineup, four key players in particular helped fuel the Game 4 win.
Ranger Suárez
For the second start in a row, Ranger Suárez had to go head-to-head with Braves’ ace Spencer Strider, and once again, he delivered big time. Other than the one little blip on Austin Riley’s home run, Suárez was practically unhittable, as he would go five strong innings of just three-hit ball and leave the game with the Phillies up 2-1 heading into the sixth inning.
Suárez has continued his dominant postseason pitching, and with Thursday’s impressive performance, he now sports a 3-0 record, along with a 1.16 ERA and a 0.86 WHIP, giving up only three earned runs with 19 strikeouts across 23 1/3 innings of work as both a starter and reliever. Talk about coming up big when things matter most; Suárez has definitely risen to the occasion time after time for the ballclub.
Trea Turner
Trea Turner picked the perfect game to go off with his bat, as he would become the first Phillies player ever to have four hits in a single postseason game in the history of the franchise. No hit was bigger than his go-ahead solo blast in the bottom of the fifth inning that put the Phillies ahead for good, as it would end up being the game-winning hit.
After a season in which Turner got off to a terribly slow start, his turnaround during the second half of 2023 has now carried into the postseason. Coming off a hot NL Wild Card series against the Miami Marlins, Turner has continued his success during the NLDS. He hit .471 with a 1.441 OPS, along with five runs scored, two doubles, two home runs, two RBI, and two stolen bases. No doubt he was doing it all for the Phillies in helping them reach the NLCS for a second consecutive season.
Nick Castellanos
What can we say about Nick Castellanos? After a huge game on Wednesday when he connected for two home runs en route to a Phillies’ 10-2 victory over the Braves, he was up for an encore performance on Thursday night. However, his home runs in the series-clinching game were definitely a lot bigger than the ones he provided the night before.
His first home run came right after the Braves had gone ahead 1-0 on Riley’s solo blast in the top half of the fourth inning. Not only did that help the Phillies get on the board, but it also quickly changed the momentum back to the home side right away.
More important was his second home run of the game, which he hit in the sixth. It gave the Phillies a crucial insurance run to work with that ended up being the difference in the seventh and ninth innings when the Braves threatened to score.
Ultimately, because of the two-run cushion provided by Castellanos, Atlanta didn't want to push their luck. They cautiously refused to risk running into an out at home just to score their second run that wouldn't have even tied the game.
Matt Strahm
Finally, the most unlikely hero of the game was Phillies’ reliever Matt Strahm. With the usual closing options of both Kimbrel and José Alvarado unavailable due to their utilization earlier in the game, Strahm was the lucky bullpen candidate who was called upon in the top of the ninth inning to help close one of their most important games of the season.
In the ninth, the Braves managed to get their first two batters on base against Phillies’ reliever Gregory Soto, putting the tying run at first base and the go-ahead run at the plate with nobody out. With the game and series on the line, it couldn’t have gotten more intense as Strahm took over from Soto.
However, tough as nails, Strahm calmly and casually retired the next two Braves’ batters, followed by a huge strikeout of Vaughan Grissom to end the game, sending everyone home happy. Strahm had come up big for the Phillies throughout the 2023 season. He posted nine wins, two saves and 11 holds during the regular season, but no performance was bigger than on Thursday night.