Lance McCullers Jr. entered Tuesday night with a solid track record in the postseason, but that didn't matter to the Phillies' offense as the lineup combined to hit five homers en route to a dominating 7-0 victory over the Astros in Game 3 of the World Series at Citizens Bank Park.
Bryce Harper started the homer parade in the first inning, crushing a two-run shot that sent an already raucous sellout crowd into another level of delirium. Alec Bohm and Brandon Marsh each hit solo shots in the second, Kyle Schwarber hit a two-run bomb in the fifth, and Rhys Hoskins followed with a blast of his own.
The five home runs tied a World Series record, and the offensive output now has the Phillies leading the best-of-seven series, 2-1.
"Hitting itself is a contagious thing without the crowd," Hoskins said after the victory in the Phillies’ clubhouse. "You throw in the crowd and the noise and the cheers, and I think it just makes it even more contagious."
Ranger Suarez was brilliant, tossing five shutout frames for the Phillies while scattering three hits. He walked one and whiffed four. He gave the Phils a chance to win while preserving the bullpen, and that's a significant deal considering the uncertainty surrounding what may happen pitching-wise in Game 5.
"'I'm never shocked when Ranger goes out there and does that," Harper said. "It's just who he is and that's just, he's a no heartbeat guy. He goes out there and they announce his name. He probably had no idea that they were even announcing him or people were going crazy because that's just how he is. So much fun to watch.
His demeanor out there, he just pitches, and he goes out there and pitches to his strengths and his ability, and it's always fun to be able to see him get a ground ball back to him or a line drive because he's just so at ease about everything that he does and it's just so much fun to watch."
Connor Brogdon, Kyle Gibson, Andrew Bellatti, and Nick Nelson combined to toss four scoreless innings in relief for the Phillies, scattering two hits.
Nick Castellanos again made a sliding grab in rightfield, this time in the opening frame on a sinking shot to shallow right from Jose Altuve to open the game. It was his third shoestring catch this postseason and kept the sellout crowd of 45,712 screaming and on their feet.
McCullers was rattled it appeared from the outset and never could get comfortable. Though no one would outwardly say it afterward, it seemed the right-hander may have been tipping his pitches.
After Harper hit his two-run blast he huddled with Bohm and said a few words, presumably about McCullers and his delivery. Bohm then led off the second inning with a homer.
The five homers marked the most surrendered by a pitcher in a single postseason game.
"I'll just say that the people whose job it is to go and find any information they can to make our lives easier is greatly appreciated," Castellanos said with a grin. "It's a group effort."
For now, the Phillies have the odds on their side. In all best-of-seven postseason series tied 1-1, the Game 3 winner has captured the series 68 of 98 times (69 percent). The Phils turn to Aaron Nola on Wednesday in Game 4 with the hope of drawing closer to a parade on Broad Street.
The pressure now sits with the Astros who have to win three of the next four contests to clinch the Series - a monumentally hard task considering there's still two more games to be played in Philadelphia.
"It's tough to play here," Castellanos said. "I can't imagine what it's like for the Astros right now. They just really have zero breathing room and that's a good thing."
