Aaron Nola, Phillies cruise past Braves 9-1, take 2-1 NLDS lead
The Philadelphia Phillies are one win away from reaching the National League Championship Series.
On Friday night, the Phillies blew out the Atlanta Braves in Game 3 of the NLDS, 9-1, taking a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series.
Led by a fantastic performance on the mound from ace Aaron Nola and an offensive eruption from their lineup, the Phillies cruised in front of a raucous crowd at Citizens Bank Park.
After impressing in his first postseason start last week, Nola had quite an encore on Friday. Nola gave up five hits and struck out six while allowing one unearned run through 6.0 innings of work.
Through two postseason starts, Nola is 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA over 12.9 innings pitched.
While Nola took care of things on the mound, his teammates pulled their weight at the plate, posting a six-run third inning to run away with things early.
After struggling against Braves' starter Spencer Strider early, the Phillies finally got to the young right-hander in the third inning.
Bryson Stott opened the scoring by doubling off Strider to plate Brandon Marsh for the game's first run.
After the Braves intentionally walked Kyle Schwarber, Rhys Hoskins stepped to the plate, smashing a three-run home run on the first pitch he saw, giving the Phillies a 4-0 advantage.
The Phillies continued to pour it on in the third. Following a J.T. Realmuto single, Bryce Harper blasted a two-run shot deep into the right-centerfield stands, increasing the Phillies' lead to 6-0.
The Phillies added some insurance in the eighth. After Harper doubled to drive in Matt Vierling, the red-hot Nick Castellanos knocked in two runs with an RBI single, leaving little doubt about Game 3's outcome.
The Phillies now look to close out the Braves in Game 4, scheduled for Saturday at 2:07 p.m.
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