Rawlings announced the 2023 Gold Glove Finalists and unsurprisingly, Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes is in the running at the hot corner in the National League.
Bryce Harper’s funny bone — the one he clutched on his right elbow before the Philadelphia Phillies clinched another berth in the NL Championship Series — gave the team, the franchise, even a city, a fleeting scare. The most valuable of all the Phillies, Harper insisted he was fine. First, the Phillies delivered a second straight KO of the Atlanta Braves in the Division Series.
Spencer Strider could not watch Nick Castellanos' second home run off him in Game 4. The 20-game winner simply accepted his fate — he gave the ball to Atlanta Braves manager Brian Snitker and awaited a reception almost as rude as the homers. Strider put his head down and walked toward the dugout as 45,000 fired-up, towel-waving Phillies fans — that had heckled and derisively chanted his name since he warmed up — pointed fingers at the pitcher and gave him the business one more time.
The 2020s are starting to feel like the 1990s for the Atlanta Braves. After tying a major league record with 307 homers, the slugging Braves went down meekly to the rival Philadelphia Phillies in the NL Division Series for the second year in a row. Other than a stunning comeback in Game 2, when the Braves overcame a four-run deficit with a pair of two-run homers and a remarkable double play for a 5-4 victory, the Phillies totally dominated the best-of-five series.
The Philadelphia Phillies eliminated the Atlanta Braves from the playoffs, beating them 3-1 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia on Thursday. The Phillies head to their second-straight NL Championship Series and will face the Arizona Diamondbacks.