PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia Phillies had a weekend full of viral highlights as they advanced to the National League Championship Series for the first time since 2010 by beating the Atlanta Braves 8-3 in Game 4 of the NL Division Series on Saturday.
The clinching victory included a three-run blast by center fielder Brandon Marsh in the second inning, an inside-the-park home run by catcher J.T. Realmuto in the third and an opposite-field shot by Bryce Harper in the eighth. The Phillies outscored Atlanta 17-4 in Games 3 and 4.
“The last 24 hours shows what we’re made of,” Marsh said after the win. “There’s a lot of good going with this ballclub. We’ve just got to keep it going, keep our heads down and grind and just stay focused on the task at hand. The last 24 hours have been pretty fun.”
Hoskins’ home run and bat spike in Game 3 was a game-changing moment but Realmuto’s scamper around the bases in Game 4, after hitting the ball off the center-field wall, might be the series-defining one.
“I’m not usually a guy that shows a lot of emotion,” Realmuto said. “When I slid into home, I couldn’t help myself. I was so excited. Excited for this city. Excited for this team. It was one of those moments I’ll definitely remember forever.”
The fans will remember it as well as their cheers came to a crescendo when Realmuto rounded third and headed for home. Players gushed at how the Philly faithful showed up for the two home games after the team ended the season on the road for three weeks. The long road trip included a wild-card series win over the St. Louis Cardinals.
“When you see the alumni coming back and they all talk about it, from the ’80 and ’93 team, they talk about what this city does and how they get behind you, how fiery and passionate they are, I think every single night we see that,” Harper said. “For them to come out the last two days it’s so much fun.”
Former Phillies outfielder Pat Burrell threw out the first pitch Saturday, one day after ex-teammate Shane Victorino did the same.
Meanwhile, Harper advanced to his first league championship series after signing with the Phillies before the 2019 season. The team added sluggers Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos before this season but got off to a slow start, leading to a managerial change. Bench coach Rob Thomson took over and things began to turn.
“We had ups and downs during the season, just like any other club does,” Thomson said. “But they knew that they were going to come out of it at some point and start winning again. And we did.
“Sometimes you have to reset them a little bit, whether it’s take them out of a certain role or give them a day off or whatever it is.
The Phillies scored 24 runs in the four-game series despite getting shut out in Game 2.
Marsh’s homer came off Braves starter Charlie Morton, not long after the veteran right-hander got hit in the elbow by a line drive off the bat of Alec Bohm.
Morton would eventually come out of the game, continuing a trend of subpar performances from Atlanta starters. Both Max Fried and Spencer Strider had poor outings as well.
While the Braves were trying to figure things out on the mound, the Phillies took advantage.
“It’s really cool for everyone in the room to come together with that one common goal,” left fielder Kyle Schwarber said.
Schwarber said he signed with Philadelphia for one reason: He knew the club had a chance to win. Castellanos echoed the same feelings — as did Harper, who went 8-for-16 in the series.
“Think that’s always been the goal, to get to where we are right now,” Harper said. “But to get even further than that. This is step two in what we’ve been through. Step one being the wild card. This being step two and [now] we’ve got two more.”
The Phillies rotation should be set up nicely for the NLCS, which begins Tuesday. Both Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola will get full rest before taking the mound again.
“We still have a long road ahead of us but we’ll soak it in today,” Nola said. “Team played just great this series.”
Philadelphia could get a boost in its bullpen as closer David Robertson says he has almost recovered from a calf injury suffered while celebrating in the wild-card series.
The Phillies are healthy and as confident as they’ve been all season as they enter baseball’s final four.
“The sweetest thing about all this is no one really knows what this team has gone through unless you were here every single day,” Schwarber said. “To see this whole team come together, it gives me goose bumps.”
Crosby, who began the night one point behind Lemieux, now has 645 goals and 1,079 assists for 1,724 points in 1,387 games. It also moved him past Lemieux for the eighth-most points in NHL history.
Crosby tipped Erik Karlsson‘s point shot at 7:58 of the first period for a goal to tie the record. He then broke the mark with 7:20 left in the period when his shot on a power play hit Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell tapped the rebound behind Jakub Dobes.
Crosby, Rust and Rakell embraced behind the net after the goal and the Penguins spilled over the bench to congratulate their captain. Later in the period, a video message recorded by Lemieux congratulating Crosby on the accomplishment was played.
“I knew when we played together in 2005, that you were going to be a very special player, and accomplish a lot of great things in your career,” Lemieux said in a message posted on the club’s social media accounts. “Here we are, 20 years later, you are now one of the best to ever play the game.”
Lemieux, a Hall of Famer who also owned the franchise following his second retirement, became the Penguins’ all-time points leader, surpassing then-assistant coach Rick Kehoe on January 20, 1989, when Crosby was 17 months old. Lemieux, who was in the lineup when Crosby recorded his first NHL point, finished his career with 1,723 points in 915 games.
Crosby, the No. 1 pick in 2005, is the seventh outright all-time points leader in 58 years of the franchise’s history and the ninth active player to lead a franchise in points. Crosby previously broke Lemieux’s record for most assists in franchise history this past Dec. 29 against the New York Islanders. Crosby is 45 goals behind Lemieux’s franchise record of 690.
Crosby is now third on the NHL’s all-time points list with a single franchise, behind only Steve Yzerman (1,755) and Gordie Howe (1,809), both with Detroit.
Crosby also passed Phil Esposito (449) for sole possession of the ninth-most even-strength goals in NHL history. He also tied Adam Oates for the eighth-most assists in NHL history in the first period. Crosby, who has 20 goals this season, achieved his 18th 20-goal season. Only six players in NHL history have more.
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Newly hired Buffalo Sabres general manager Jarmo Kekalainen has wasted little time reshaping the team’s front office by hiring former Montreal Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin and Josh Flynn to his staff.
The hirings, announced Sunday, come in Kekalainen’s first week on the job and a day after he fired assistant general manager Jason Karmanos. Kekalainen took over on Monday to replace Kevyn Adams, who was fired with the Sabres already in jeopardy of extending their NHL-record playoff drought to a 15th consecutive season.
“[They] bring a wealth of unique experience and perspective,” said Kekalainen, the former Columbus Blue Jackets general manager who spent the previous six-plus months as a senior adviser in Buffalo. “Adding both to an already strong group adds versatility and helps us continue to build a well-rounded hockey operations staff.”
Bergevin fills the associate general manager position and will serve as Kekalainen’s top adviser. He joins the Sabres after spending parts of the past five seasons as a senior adviser with the Los Angeles Kings.
The 60-year-old Bergevin most notably oversaw the Canadiens from 2012 to 2021, over which Montreal made six playoff appearances, including a five-game series loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2021 Stanley Cup Final. He previously worked in player personnel and scouting roles with the Chicago Blackhawks.
“Marc has firsthand experience as an NHL general manager and a track record as a strong talent evaluator,” Kekalainen said. “His insight will be invaluable as we continue to identify and develop talent throughout the organization.”
Flynn was named assistant general manager. He previously worked under Kekalainen with the Blue Jackets specializing in salary cap management, statistical research and strategic planning. Flynn’s role will be similar in Buffalo.
“I know that his attention to detail and nuanced understanding of league processes will help to enhance how we support our broader organization,” Kekalainen said.
Flynn’s responsibilities are similar to that of Buffalo’s current assistant GM Mark Jakubowski. With Karmanos’ departure, Jakubowski’s duties will likely shift more to overseeing the Sabres’ American Hockey League affiliate in Rochester, New York.
Kekalainen has also retained Sabres assistant general manager Jerry Forton, who serves as the team’s chief amateur scout.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — New York Rangers captain J.T. Miller will miss at least one game after getting injured Saturday and is not traveling with the team to Nashville.
Coach Mike Sullivan said Miller was still being evaluated back home for an upper-body injury and would not play Sunday night against the Predators.
Miller left the Rangers’ game against Philadelphia with about eight minutes left after taking a big hit from Flyers defenseman Nick Seeler and landing awkwardly. The 32-year-old forward appeared to be favoring his right arm or shoulder while in pain on the bench and skating off to go down the tunnel for medical attention.
“You don’t want to lose any teammates,” center Mika Zibanejad said. “When you see your captain go down and you don’t see him come back, that obviously becomes [a situation] for us to step up and everyone has to do a little more when a guy like that leaves. Just hoping everything is OK.”
Miller was named captain before training camp. He has 10 goals and 12 assists in 35 games this season and is believed to be in consideration for the U.S. Olympic team, though it’s unclear whether this injury could cloud that possibility.
