Phillies down Miami behind Nola, Stott, Realmuto, advance to NL Division Series

PHILADELPHIA – Next stop, Atlanta.

Aaron Nola pitched seven 3-hit innings and J.T. Realmuto and Bryson Stott homered, with Stott smacking a grand slam, as the Phillies downed Miami 7-1 to sweep their best-of-3 National League Wild Card Series Wednesday night.

Rookie Orion Kerkering followed Nola's stellar outing with a 1-2-3 eighth inning. Gregory Soto gave up Miami's only run but was recipient of the ninth-inning celebratory mob.

That continued with champagne-soaked clubhouse merriment to the sound of loud music.

"To walk out there tonight, in the wild card at home, it's pretty special, especially being up one game to zero," Nola said. "You don't get it [the crowd reaction] every other place like you do here . . . It's pretty cool, it's pretty special."

A raucous sellout throng of 45,738 heralded the accomplishment as the Phillies advanced to the NL Division Series.

That best-of-5 set begins Saturday against the vaunted Braves, who won an MLB-best 104 regular-season games. The Phillies will be trying to repeat last year's 3-1 NLDS upset of Atlanta that paved their way to the World Series.

Stott slam comes after error

Stott's grand-slam home run into the right-field seats put the Phillies up 7-0. His clout came with one out in the sixth inning after Marlins third baseman Jake Burger booted a potential double-play grounder off Bryce Harper's bat.

Stott made him pay.

"I know I yelled at the dugout and couldn't really hear myself," Stott said of fans' reaction. "I knew the crowd was loud and any time we get to play here you know it's going to be loud from the very first pitch. I wouldn't want to play anywhere else . . . Just being able to do this at home was really cool."

Realmuto homers

Marlins starter Braxton Garrett got the hook after three innings. His reliever, David Robinson, got quite a greeting.

Realmuto launched a solo home run into the left-field seats off his former Phillies batterymate as the Phils increased their lead to 3-0.

Phils take 2-0 lead

Cristian Pache zoomed toward third base riding the vocal roar of the crowd. There was no way third-base coach Dusty Wathan, who did such things Tuesday, could hold him.

Pache slid home and scored easily from first base on Kyle Schwarber's one-out, third-inning double as the Phillies went up in their bid to sweep the best-of-3 series.

Trea Turner then singled in Schwarber as the Phillies took a 2-0 lead into the fourth.

Nola picks off baserunner

The crack of Realmuto's bat pierced the din but Phillies couldn't provide more reason to stir the crowd in the second inning. Realmuto doubled into the right-field corner with one out for the first hit of the game. He was stranded there though as Nick Castellanos flied out to center and Bryson Stott struck out.

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Jon Berti then doubled for Miami with one out in the third inning as left-fielder Pache made a long run to his left but had the ball go off the tip of his glove. It was the Marlins' first hit.

But Berti was then picked off by Phillies starter Aaron Nola as he started running too soon on a 3-2 pitch to Jacob Stallings, who then grounded out to third baseman Alex Bohm to end the inning.

“That was huge,” Phils manager Rob Thomson said of the pick-off.

Nola at his best

Nola ascended the pitcher's mound hoping to replicate his last couple of starts and his first two postseason ventures last year. He did just that,

"I just tried to stay within myself tonight and make my pitches all night," he said. "I didn't try to do anything crazy. Just tried to stay consistent throughout the night and fill up the zone as best as possible and try to keep those guys on the ground."

Nola, 12-9 with a 4.46 ERA this season, pitched well in his previous two starts. He limited Atlanta to six hits and two runs in a 6-5 win Sept. 20. Last week against the Pirates, Nola allowed four hits and one run over 6⅔.

In those two games, he had a combined 16 strikeouts with no walks, showing command that has been the hallmark of his best stints.

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Last year’s initial postseason showing is a good sign for Nola. He won starts against St. Louis in the wild-card round and Atlanta in the NLDS while giving up just one run in 12⅔ innings.

Nola was also pitching on eight days rest, which may have enhanced his effectiveness, though he did pitch an additional bullpen session between starts "just to stray ready. I didn't want too much time off," he said.

"The two guys that pitched in this series were as expected," Thomson said of Zack Wheeler and Nola. "That's what they do. They shut people down and they're big-game pitchers."

The 30-year-old Nola, chosen seventh overall in the 2014 draft out of LSU by the Phillies, faces an uncertain future as he'll be a free agent after this season.

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He received a long and loud ovation when he walked to the bullpen for his pregame warmups.

"I just want to win for this team," Nola said Tuesday of keeping his attention on the present.

Happiness and heartbreak for Alvarado

Jose Alvarado struck out two in his one-inning stint in relief of Zack Wheeler Tuesday, giving the Phillies a dose of the firepower and, they hope, reliability that will carry through the postseason.

Having had two stints on the injured list this season due to elbow inflammation, Alvarado hopes to remain in working order.

“I'm very happy to stay healthy and give the help to my teammates,” he said before Game 2 Wednesday. “Right now I feel like strong. I feel good. My body is in shape. I'm so happy.”

Crowds feed off Alvarado's emotions on the mound, and Tuesday's throng of 45,662 relished the results. The pitcher appreciated it as the Phillies improved to 23-11 all-time in postseason games at Citizens Bank Park. That's the best home record in baseball history for at least 30 games.

But that adoring audience did not include his mother, sister, son or daughter. They've been denied in repeated attempts to obtain visas for travel to the United States from their native Venezuela because of poor relations between the nations.

That has brought personal heartbreak for Alvarado, who even had them briefly staying in Brazil in the hope that may provide a path to the U.S. It did not.

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"Last night after the game, I go home, like my mom is calling me, talking a lot and crying because she's missed last year the World Series," Alvarado said. "This year I try to bring my mom to the United States, and the United States say I can't give the visa to your mom. It's like so hard for me."

Thompson defends third-base coach

Phillies third-base coach Dusty Wathan became a hot topic during Game 1 Tuesday with his decisions on sending baserunners home. Thomson defended him Wednesday before Game 2.

"I was fine with Dusty's decisions, I really was," he said. "Our scouting reports have both those outfielders with plus arms, and we actually have a better accuracy grade on [right-fielder Jesus] Sanchez than we do [center-fielder Jazz] Chisholm. Sanchez throws the ball up the line, Chisholm throws a strike to the plate. It happens.

"I've coached third for a long time. Until you're in that box, you don't know what it's like. Dusty's really good."

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This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Phillies vs. Marlins in National League wild-card series: Live report