NLCS: Phillies Beat Padres to Move One Win From World Series
Anibal Sanchez took advantage of a terrible start from the Phillies offense last night. This gave him the opportunity to go out and score a run off of a pitch he missed by three feet, which ended up as a walk-off grand slam.
This one-two punch in the lineup has been one of the main reasons for the Phillies success this season.
This was such a dominant first half of baseball. Sanchez put together one of the most dominant seasons ever, with a 1.57 ERA and 15.1 K/9. Then a couple weeks ago Sanchez pitched into the ninth inning in two consecutive starts, tossing a season best seven shutouts. The reason for this dominance is because of his line-drive slider and change-up.
While this has been a great season, there are reasons to be concerned. He has now allowed at least two home runs in four of his last five starts and this is against the best team in baseball.
While many have said they feel as if Sanchez is one of the greatest pitchers in baseball, his ERA of 4.44 is still a long way to go before he is considered a bona fide ace.
In the end, this was a huge win for the Phillies and gave the defending champions something to build upon. The Phillies have now swept their two home games this series and swept their two road games.
For some perspective, the Phillies swept the Dodgers in six games in the NLDS.
Despite the best efforts of the Nationals, the Phillies were able to continue what has been a great season in the National League.
While the Phillies have shown nothing this season as the NL East champion, they still are very much a lock for the World Series. However, there are still a couple key things to monitor moving forward.
One is the Phillies offense. The Phillies offense has been the main reason for the team’s success thus far in 2016. Sanchez threw a perfect game, a two-hit shutout, four no-hit innings, one walk-off, a season high five-hit shutout, and he did all this against arguably the best team in baseball.
This team has been consistent to this point and has