LOS ANGELES – Garrett Stubbs is stroked into the kitchen of the Dodger Stadium Visitors Club Club.
The Phillies just won the NL East title for the second time Monday night, defeating the Dodgers 6-5 in 10 innings. It was a wild, fun ending on a long day. The Phillies landed in Los Angeles before 2 a.m. local time, a few hours later than the scheduled time because they had another mechanical problem on the plane. (It has happened several times this season.) But no matter when they land and arrive at their hotel, the Phillies must play the Dodgers at 7:10 p.m.
This is not ideal, but they are not a big deal.
They played. They won. They participated.
“This is apple juice!” Bryce Harper smiled, holding up a small clear container.
Harper doesn’t drink, so he wants to make sure everyone knows it and then pour the juice into the beer tobacco.
“Just in case my wife is watching,” Harper joked.
Harper chug laughed. His teammates cheered.
The Phillies started Monday night's game with its magic number for the NL East Lock. A moment later, Kyle Schwarber took a 1-0 lead in his 53rd home run of the season, although the Dodgers would lead 3-1 to seventh place, when the Phillies roster rose in the second half.
Otto Kemp hits the ground rules on the left to start the frame. Bryson Stott scored a singles single. Weston Wilson beat a first two-round home run, giving the Phillies a 4-3 lead.
It didn't last. Orion Kerkering allows home runs to Mookie Betts at the bottom of the game. But Harper took control in the eighth place, tearing a home run into a right center seat, giving the Phillies a 5-4 lead.
Harper hasn't reached first base yet when the ball clears the fence. He lifted his right arm into the air. He fisted on the way to second place. He celebrated several more times as he surrounds the base.
After touching the plate, he clapped his hands again.
“It was a heavyweight fight, man,” Harper said.
Philadelphia expects to start next month from next month.
If the season ends on Monday, the Phillies will see the first round again and become the second seed in the NL. They can face the Dodgers in the NL Division Series.
The Dodgers won the World Series last year. The Phillies think they can win the game this year. Over the past three seasons, they have fallen. They lost the World Series in 2022. They lost NLC in 23 years. They lost NLD in 24 years.
Maybe this time it's different.
Maybe this team is different.
“We've been pushing, we've been grinding,” Schwarber said. “It's a lot of the same faces, right? Everyone knows and expects what we expect from each other. I think it's a great thing. We expect a lot of ourselves.”
Many faces are the same as '22. But there is an increase. Harrison Bader, Jhoan Duran and David Robertson joined the Phillies this summer. Duran and Robertson were once the bullpens of the Phillies. Duran is also grand, even if he allows him to play home runs on Andy's Ninth page.
“I want to win there, I want to save,” Duran said. “But I can't be perfect every time.”
After JT Realmuto's Sac flew at the 10th top, Robertson was equipped with a base in the lower half, but he was not allowed to run and score.
“I know this team is good,” Robertson said. “I know we have a great chance to win the department. Absolutely didn't imagine myself playing with runners everywhere in the extra innings and trying to get out of it to get out of it. But it's a strong environment. It's a fun game. It's a fun game. It's like a playoffs.”
The Philadelphia traded two of the highest prospects for Duran. They exchanged a few smaller prospects in exchange for Bader. They signed Robertson as a free agent, which took them further beyond the luxury tax, which meant more tax penalties.
“Money is easy,” said John Middleton, managing partner of Philadelphia. “That’s the simple part.”
Like Duran and Robertson, Bader is a gift.
His teammates and the city fell in love with him because of his offense and defense, and the energy he brought to the court. He spoke the term “what gift” that manager Rob Thomson mentioned the phrase last week at Schwarber’s 50th home run. Stubbs wore a T-shirt.
“I think energy is everything, and I absolutely love my job,” Bud said. “It's my personality. I'm grateful that my teammates accept my personality and let me do my thing in that field. And I think you can run with really good energy. So I'm just sharing my love for the game with them.”
So, he really said “what gift” and should he wear a T-shirt?
“I have tattoos on my arm,” Bud pointed out the words on his left forearm. “It just puts a lot of things in perspective, and honestly, once you say 'What a gift' it changes your mindset about things. Even if it's a bad, annoying or uncomfortable thing, it changes your point of view immediately. It's like, you're sitting in traffic, you're late, you're late, you're stressful, you're just looking for, you're going to say, what you're talking about.'' Gift. It changes everything.”
Bud said he got a tattoo during the offseason.
“This was,” he said.