Phillies - Cardinals Game One: Contact

 After 8 innings of mostly dull as hell while still being excruciating baseball, the Phillies trailed on the road 2-0. After 1B Rhys Hoskins failed to hold up on ball four, they were two outs away from defeat... and then they stopped swinging at balls. After a single by C JT Realmuto, two walks and a hit by pitch by 3B Alec Bohm broke the shutout, then 2B Jean Segura snuck a ball through the right side, and hey presto, a lead. PR Edmundo Sosa took home with a slide for the ages, and when the smoke cleared, it's the most runs ever in the post-season for a team trailing in the 9th. Phillies 6, Cardinals 3, and they are a win away from taking the series.

Thoughts:

> I enjoyed the ending, but lord alive, baseball is terrible now. Just no contact, all the mystery gone with spin rates and velocity, shifts taking away hits. You can have it.

> Watching Albert Pujols trying to beat out a double play ball is like watching a Galapagos turtle. Apologies to the turtle.

> The Cardinals had 20 innings of Zach Wheeler this year, and scored no runs. Fun.

> For a bad defensive team... not so much! Enjoyable.

> I don't do much in the way of managerial second-guessing, but leaving in the closer who can't find the plate and burning up the bullpen... yeesh.

> I still don't think this Phillies team is going deep -- the bullpen isn't exactly deep or trustworthy, and when OF Kyle Schwarber and Hoskins aren't doing much, the offense is very workable -- but they beat a good closer on the road. If you can't enjoy that, there's no reason to watch the game...