Bryce Harper stood as still in the clubhouse as he does when he admires a home run and accepted the beer bath from bottles his Phillies teammates took delight in pouring on him.
Harper’s goggles provided no defense for the waterfall of booze streaming down his cheeks.
“It’s so cold! But it’s so good!” slugger Rhys Hoskins barked in Harper’s face.
Then it was time for the Phillies to sing: “I’m going going, back back, to Cali Cali!” they shouted in unison to the Notorious B.I.G. classic. That’s right, the next stop for the Fightins is a trip West to the NLCS, as a team that looked completely lost in May suddenly looks every bit like a World Series contender in October.
Brandon Marsh hit a three-run homer and J.T. Realmuto lined an inside-the-park home run that sent Philadelphia bolting headfirst into the NL Championship Series for the first time since 2010 with an 8-3 win over the Atlanta Braves in Game 4 Saturday.