HOUSTON — For much of Monday night, it appeared the Phillies’ ticket back to the postseason would be punched after the final outcome of a game that was played more than 1,100 miles away.
Sorry, but the occasion called for more drama than that.
It took the Phillies nearly 11 years — 4,010 days, to be precise, but hey, who was counting? — to return to the playoffs. Aaron Nola has been around for most of it, more than any of his teammates. He played with Howard and Utley and Hamels and Ruiz. He pitched for teams that lost 99, 91, and 96 games. He watched the teardown and the rebuild and signed a four-year contract extension just before the rebuild stalled.
