Phillies power their way to Game 3 win in front of another electric South Philly crowd originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Citizens Bank Park was a volcano waiting to erupt when Ranger Suarez took the mound just after 8 p.m. Tuesday night.
The eruption came quickly and never stopped as the Phillies powered their way to a rousing 7-0 victory over the Houston Astros in Game 3 of the World Series on the strength of five home runs.
The win gave the Phillies a two-games-to-one advantage in the best-of-seven series with Game 4 set for Wednesday night.
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Game 3 was all Phillies.
And all Phillies fans.
Bryce Harper, Alec Bohm, Brandon Marsh, Kyle Schwarber and Rhys Hoskins all went deep against Houston starter Lance McCullers Jr. before the game was five innings old.
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But it was a defensive play that electrified the crowd of 45,712 right out of the gate.
Houston leadoff man Jose Altuve stroked a sinking liner to right on Suarez' first pitch of the game. Right fielder Nick Castellanos sprinted in and made his third tremendous sliding catch of this postseason to set an early tone that the Phillies, 5-2 losers in Game 2 Saturday night in Houston, had come to play.
After Castellanos' catch, Suarez completed a 1-2-3 first inning and the Phillies' bats went to work.
Schwarber drew a leadoff walk against McCullers in the bottom of the first inning. McCullers then retired Hoskins and J.T. Realmuto, bringing up Harper.
Nine days after propelling the Phillies into the World Series with a dramatic two-run home run in the eighth inning of Game 5 of the NLCS against San Diego, Harper came through again. He sniffed out a hanging, first-pitch slider from McCullers and drove it deep into the right-field seats for his sixth homer this postseason and a 2-0 Phillies lead.
The home run frenzy continued in the second inning as Bohm lined a first-pitch sinker over the wall in left with no outs. Marsh followed with a two-out shot to right to make it 4-0.
Marsh was in the middle of it again in the bottom of the fifth. He stroked a leadoff single and scored when Schwarber bashed a two-run homer off the batter's eye in center field. Hoskins followed with a solo shot, his sixth of the postseason.
McCullers set a dubious postseason record. No pitcher had ever allowed five homers in a single postseason game. The Phillies became just the third team to hit five homers in a single postseason game and just the second to do it in the World Series, joining the 2017 Astros.
And every one of them caused a huge eruption in the seats.
The Phillies played in front of just three sellout crowds at Citizens Bank Park during the regular season. In the postseason, the place has come alive, just like the team that calls it home. The Phils, the last of six playoff seeds in the National League, are 6-0 at home this postseason and the place has been packed for all six games. The Phils have out-homered opponents, 17-6, at home this postseason. Citizens Bank Park has become the best home-field advantage in the game, an energy source that the team feeds off.
Monday night's rainout allowed the Phillies to move Suarez up to start Game 3. Nine days after closing out the NLCS and four days after pitching two-thirds of an inning of relief in the Game 1 win over the Astros, Suarez got the win in Game 3.
The left-hander from Venezuela was the coolest guy in the house, delivering five shutout innings. He allowed just three singles and a walk. Suarez has not pitched into the sixth in a month so manager Rob Thomson lifted him at 76 pitches. He lines up to pitch Game 7 on Sunday night in Houston, if necessary. With Games 4 and 5 at Citizens Bank Park on Wednesday and Thursday night, the Phils have the opportunity to avoid a return trip to Houston. Aaron Nola will start Game 4 against Houston's Cristian Javier.
Nola has been hit hard in his last two starts, both on the road. He beat the Braves in Game 3 of the NLDS at home, allowing just an unearned run in six innings, and is 45-24 lifetime at Citizens Bank Park.
