Phillies Red October Memories: Déjà vu for the Atlanta Braves
After the Philadelphia Phillies broke a long playoff drought with a wild card berth in the MLB Playoffs in 2022, the city suddenly remembered the euphoria of Red October at Citizens Bank Park.
The Golden Era of Phillies baseball took a sharp turn after a disappointing playoff exit in 2011, but the expectation of an annual playoff appearance is back.
The rally towels at Citizens Bank Park in Red October create some of the best memories in the history of Philadelphia sports.
October 11, 2023
National League Division Series Game 3 at Citizens Bank Park
Phillies 10, Atlanta Braves 2
A Familiar NLDS Rivalry
The Atlanta Braves won 104 games in 2023. Even a 14-game cakewalk to a National League East pennant didn’t stop the Atlanta media from worrying about why the MLB playoff bracket doesn’t reseed after each round, however.
Their reward for the remarkable regular season was opening the playoffs against the red hot team that knocked them out of the NLDS the previous October.
Things unfolded almost too similarly. The Phillies took Game 1 at Truist Park and spooked the Braves with a 4-0 lead in Game 2. They failed, however, to go for the throat when the bullpen let the Braves slug their way to a 5-4 lead.
Atta Boy Harper
Bryce Harper had no intention of letting Atlanta’s eighth inning rally decide Game 2. He led off the ninth with a walk and immediately set his mind on tying the game.
Nick Castellanos smacked a ball toward the left-center field gap with one out on a ball that looked like it could bring Harper home if it landed.
The game’s biggest superstar stormed like a freight train around the bases. His overaggressive running burned him when Michael Harris made a phenomenal catch at the wall and doubled up Harper to end the ninth.
Shortstop Orlando Arcia then made a mistake, whether or not he meant to. His infamous mocking celebration made “Atta boy Harper” a phrase that will go down in Philadelphia sports history.
The Biggest MLB Superstar
Arcia’s comment added to the adrenaline of 45,000+ at Citizens Bank Park. Bryce Harper stepped to the plate in the third inning of a tie game and smacked an inevitable upper deck home run.
He famously stared down Atlanta’s middling shortstop as he rounded the bases. The three-run shot fueled a six-run inning, and Harper added to the commanding lead with a solo home run in the fifth.
He couldn’t help but stare down Orlando Arcia once again.
The Game 2 bloodbath set up the Phillies to close out the Braves in Game 4 at Citizens Bank Park. The NLDS in 2023 turned out eerily similar to the previous October.
