PHILADELPHIA — They’d been through the worst of it. Through the rebuild, and the losing, and the failed prospects and the empty seats and the last four managers and the dead Octobers.
Now, after a 9-1 win, and after the Phillies surged to a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series, after they found themselves 27 outs from winning the National League Division Series in a home game less than 24 hours away, it was only fitting that homegrown cornerstones Aaron Nola and Rhys Hoskins turned out to be the Phillies that did the most work.
That pair played the largest part in winning the first playoff game at Citizens Park in 11 years. They’d earned it over the years. They’d produced with inferior teammates, produced as the Eagles won it all in 2017 and the star-studded Sixers surged past them, and they’d done it without a misstep.
