The Philadelphia Phillies won “just” 87 games in the regular season, barely sneaking into the postseason with the last seed in the National League.
They finished third in their division, 14 games behind the almighty Atlanta Braves.
Atlanta earned the second seed in the NL and didn’t have to play the Wild Card Series, a round in which the Phillies swept the favored St. Louis Cardinals at their house.
It looks like the Phillies love the “underdog” tag because they are determined to give the Braves a run for their money.
Starting off hot!! pic.twitter.com/KFy77HFp8H
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) October 11, 2022
In the first inning against Braves ace Max Fried, Philadelphia was able to score a couple of runs off one of the best pitchers in the National League.
Castellanos And Bohm Came Through With Timely Hits
Nick Castellanos hit an RBI single to get things started on the scoreboard, and a few moments later, Alec Bohm did the same to give the Phils a 2-0 lead.
A Travis d’Arnaud solo home run in the bottom of the second put the game 2-1 still in favor of the Phillies.
The Braves, however, have to be a bit worried about Fried’s ability to last long in the game.
He has already surrendered five hits and two runs in just two innings of work.
The Braves have an elite bullpen who also happens to be deep and full of quality options.
However, the idea is to have them somewhat rested for the rest of the series, not to bring them in for the third or fourth frame.
The good thing is that Fried appeared to settle in after the rocky first inning, and the game is still right there for the reigning World Series champions.
NEXT: 3 Keys To A Philadelphia Phillies Playoff Run