PHILADELPHIA — Between late September and early October last year, the Phillies spent 2½ weeks on the road. They went from a road trip to end the regular season, to the Wild Card Series in St. Louis, to the National League Division Series in Atlanta. As they eventually traveled back to Philadelphia for Game 3 against the Braves, they did not know what to expect from their fans.
After all, the Phillies had been inconsistent. They snuck into the postseason. And as Brad Hand, who was on that team, remembers it, they did not draw terrific crowds — at least none that rivaled what they saw in October.
When Hand and the Phillies finally took the field at Citizens Bank Park, their crowd turned into a monster capable of helping them beat anyone and everyone.
“We didn’t know what to expect, really, because we hadn’t seen it,” Hand, now a Braves reliever, recalled before Monday’s Game 2. “It’s a different environment. It’s fun to play in. I just feel like that stadium, the fans are right on top of you, so it may seem a little louder.”
The Phillies smoked the Braves in Games 3 and 4 to eliminate them. Then the Phillies beat San Diego in the National League Championship Series. They eventually lost in the World Series, but their fans proved something: Citizens Bank Park was a house of horrors again.
On Wednesday and Thursday, the Braves will be the second entrants into that ballpark this postseason. The Marlins were swept there in the Wild Card Series. The Braves and Phillies are tied 1-1 in the best-of-five NLDS as it heads to Philly.
The Braves have the momentum from a Game 2 comeback victory. The Phillies have the opportunity to close out the series at home because they won Game 1 in Atlanta.
“I told everyone this past offseason that Philly was probably ... the loudest stadium I’ve ever been in, especially last year in the postseason,” pitcher A.J. Minter said Tuesday. “We know Philly fans; we know them pretty well. They’re passionate for their team, and so are we. It’s gonna be chaotic, it’s gonna be loud. We just have to be ready for it.”
Added Braves manager Brian Snitker: “It’s as nuts a place as I’ve ever been, that’s for sure. There may be a few guys that have not experienced that until they get there. I’m sure these guys are talking about it. But I think for the most part, when you’ve been through what these guys have been through, it kind of jacks them up, too.”
If this series has reaffirmed a postseason tenet, it’s this: momentum matters.
In Game 1, the Phillies took it and ran to victory. Each time the Braves tried to build something on offense, Philadelphia stifled them. That continued into Game 2 until the Braves snatched it by matching their largest postseason comeback in franchise history.
As Zack Wheeler dominated the Braves on Monday, the clock on their season ticked down. In an hour, they woke up. They are alive.
“Everyone knows: If we go down 0-2 here at home, have to go to Philly, the odds are stacked against us,” Minter said. “And for us to go out there, split the series, and have the momentum going back to Philly is huge for us. We’re going to have to play really good baseball moving forward. We’re going to have to clean some stuff up, but we couldn’t ask to be in a better situation, and we’re feeling confident.”
Of momentum in the postseason, Kirby Yates, who Tuesday pitched in a playoff game for the first time, said this before the contest: “You kind of get a sense pretty early on that momentum is pretty big.
“So whenever you can kind of take advantage of that, you gotta take advantage. And kind of on the flip side, whenever you can slow it down, you try and slow it down. Momentum does play a part in this, and I think that’s why postseason baseball is different in a lot of ways, and that’s a big way.”
Last season, the Braves never got rolling in Philadelphia. In Game 3, the Phillies piled on Spencer Strider, who was coming back from an oblique injury. In Game 4, Philadelphia scored early again. Both times, it felt like the Phillies buried the Braves.
This time, the Braves must start stronger. “Scoring first on the road is always big to kind of get that momentum on your side, and (so) you’re not playing from behind,” Hand said. The Braves’ historic offense can do this. But will it?
Aaron Nola, whom the Braves have faced a lot, will pitch in Game 3. The Phillies haven’t announced a Game 4 starter.
The Braves must win one of those to give their home fans more baseball.
No one knows how it’ll all play out, but this much is for sure: Citizens Bank Park will be loud. Raucous. Deafening.
“I think the crowd always plays a factor no matter where you are,” Hand said. “Once things start to get going on the road, it’s loud, it’s hard to change that momentum. But as a visitor, you just got to channel their energy into getting outs.”
This time around, the Braves should be more ready to step into Citizens Bank Park.
“I think it helps that Atlanta did go there last year and saw the environment,” Hand said. “There’s no way to really describe it unless you go there and see it. So the fact that the Braves saw it last year, and they know what to expect when going there, and kind of just how to calm yourself down and try to play the game. It’s tough at times, but that’s what postseason baseball is all about. Every play is important, every pitch is important. You just gotta hone that energy in the right way.”
