Phillies excited to play at 'hostile' Citi Field in Game 3 of NLDS

After the Philadelphia Phillies wrapped up their thrilling 7-6 ninth-inning walk-off win in Game 2 of the NLDS on Sunday — an instant classic at Citizens Bank Park — thoughts inevitably turned to Tuesday's Game 3. Now tied at one game apiece, the series shifts to Citi Field, where New York Mets fans are sure to be riled up for their first playoff game since losing the NL Wild Card Series in 2022.

The environment at Citi Field is sure to be a hostile one toward Phillies players. The Phillies aren't going to let that rattle them. Instead, they're excited to play in front of the Mets fans. If they can survive their own fans, they can surely handle anything that Mets fans can throw their way (figuratively, of course ... ahem, Dodgers fans).

Phillies excited to play at 'hostile' Citi Field in Game 3 of NLDS

Phillies leadoff slugger Kyle Schwarber is ready to stop the cheers in New York. If anyone can, he's the guy to do it, with 15 regular season leadoff dingers. He already has one in this series. He launched Kodai Senga's third pitch of Game 1 into the second deck at The Bank and now holds the record for most postseason leadoff home runs with five.

"You embrace it, right? That's why we're in the playoffs, right?" Schwarber said after Game 2 when asked about the hostile crowd in New York. "It's a hostile environment here for them. We enjoy the cheers, right, now it's time for us to enjoy the loud, raucous boos ... that's the beautiful thing about postseason baseball. Now it's time for us to stop the cheers and see what happens."

One of the Phillies' Game 2 heroes, first baseman Bryce Harper, certainly doesn't shy away from the spotlight. In fact, he seems to perform when the lights are the brightest, no matter where he's playing. He's looking forward to performing for the Citi Field crowd.

"That's a big win, going 1-1 into New York," Harper told FOX's Tom Verducci on the field following the Game 2 win. "I expect that to be a pretty hostile environment. We're looking forward to that, so, a lot of fun."

Game 3 starter Aaron Nola isn't concerned about starting on the road. He was bumped to the No. 3 rotation spot for the NLDS amid concerns about Cristopher Sánchez's performance on the road this season. Manager Rob Thomson decided to start Sánchez in Game 2 in front of the home fans — a decision that paid off.

"I was fine with it. I was super happy for Sanchy to be able to pitch at home," Nola said during Monday's press conference. "I mean, whatever I can do to try to contribute and try to put the team in the best chance to win in a playoff game, whether it's home or road, I was fine with."

This will be Nola’s third Game 3 NLDS start. In his previous two, he has thrown 11 2/3 innings and allowed just two earned runs with 15 strikeouts in two Phillies wins.

The veteran, who has made 14 career starts at Citi Field and has a 3.28 ERA, isn't worried about the hostile crowd. Instead, he focused on how "cool" of a venue he thinks the Mets' stadium is to pitch in.

"[Citi Field] is a pretty cool place to play, pretty cool place to pitch," Nola said.

Anyone who has thrown a nine-inning complete-game shutout on the Mets' field, like Nola did in May, would likely feel the same way.

With Game 3 just hours away, let's hope he can put together another strong outing in hostile territory and help the Phillies go up two games to one in the best-of-five series.

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