Phillies shutout Astros 7-0, take 2-1 series lead

SOUTH PHILADELPHIA - World Series? Difficult? Pfft! Now that may be a bit early and possibly even a tad overstated. However, it’s hard to argue that the Phillies seemed to be playing their way through this game with ease.

Taking it one inning at a time has been the philosophy the Phillies have had to go by to this point in the postseason. While taking it slow is fun and all, sometimes it’s better to just take a chunk out of a squad and spit ‘em out. That is exactly what the Phils did today, dropping 4 runs on the Stros through the first 2 innings. Bryce Harper, started the night off with a moonshot to right, as Alec Bohm and Brandon Marsh followed suit with homers of their own.

The struggles of Ranger Suarez seemed to be all but a thing of the past, as the lefty went 5.0 scoreless before being lifted. Suarez looked great in his limited time on the mound, though his pitch count was driven up by some hard-fought Astros ABs. The bullpen jumped on the bandwagon as well, holding Houston to only two hits in the late innings.

There is not a much better outcome you could have asked for from the Phillies. It is all lining up perfectly when you think about it; the big bats are hitting, the pitchers are hitting their spots, the defense has been on point, and probably most important of all; the manager cannot miss. The Midas touch that Rob Thomson has possessed since taking over as manager is nearly video game like. When it comes to the lineup, the rotation, the bullpen, or whatever it may be. Rob Thomson has made the right decision, and that has brought the Phillies here; to the world series.

It takes a lot from a squad to be able to knock out a powerhouse like the Astros, but the Phillies did it tonight. They continue to prove time and time again that they are for real, and they deserve to be respected. While many may never put that respect on the Fightins, that’s just how we’ve grown to live. The underdog is the hungry dog, as the wise Jason Kelce once said. And the Phillies are certainly playing like the hungry dog right now…