Bryce blows out b-day candles ... at home plate!

Plus: Rangers take commanding 2-0 lead home

Tuesday, October 17 View In Browser Good morning! Birthday homers are the best homers. TOP NEWS Bryce born for (and in!) October. So are these Phillies   Bryce Harper celebrated his 31st birthday with a no-doubt homer, one of three the Phillies hit in NLCS Game 1 as they held off a late charge from the D-backs to put on a show at The Bank. Rangers head home with commanding 2-0 ALCS advantage Texas took the lead seven pitches into the game and held off Houston to improve to 7-0 this postseason, just one win short of the all-time record. Phils (3 HRs) open NLCS with bang to back Wheeler's gem Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper and Nick Castellanos went deep and Zack Wheeler cemented his reputation as an October ace as Philadelphia rocked the ballpark in a Game 1 win. Yordan battling virus, but you'd never know it by his 2 homers Yordan Alvarez was under the weather before ALCS Game 2, but his at-bats certainly didn't show it, continuing his epic power surge this postseason. Schwarber's 1st-pitch homer sets postseason leadoff mark It took Phillies designated hitter Kyle Schwarber exactly one pitch in the National League Championship Series to snap his home run drought -- and to make some history in the process. Will Philly crowd control the narrative again? 3 keys for NLCS G2 Will tonight's game turn into a pitchers' duel? Can the D-backs rise above the din in Philly? All that and more at a pivotal moment for both teams in this series. MORE TOP NEWS TOP PERFORMANCES Nick Castellanos: 1-for-4, HR 5 HRs in a 3-game span tied for most in postseason history Zack Wheeler: 6 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 8 K's 3 postseason outings, 3 quality starts with 8+ K's Nathan Eovaldi: 6 IP, 3 ER, 9 K's Escapes bases-loaded jam with no outs in 5th Kyle Schwarber: 1-for-4, HR 4th career leadoff HR the most in postseason history Bryce Harper: 2-for-3, HR, BB, 2 RBIs Has 3 HRs in past 3 postseason games Yordan Alvarez: 2-for-3, 2 HRs 6 HRs tied for most through team's first 6 postseason games MORE STATS PLAY A SPORCLE BASEBALL QUIZ! POSTSEASON BRACKET MUST-SEE PLAY It's not easy to get a ball past Josh Jung. STAFF PICKS Ever seen a hit-by-pitch turn into a cartwheel? Houston native and record-setting gymnast Simone Biles is an Astros fan, but even she'd have to be impressed by the 6-foot-1, 205-pound Adolis García turning this hit-by-pitch into a pretty solid cartwheel. These two Taylor-made for the NLCS It's the most raucous atmosphere in baseball at Citizens Bank Park. So Travis Kelce and brother Jason Kelce of the Eagles fit right in at Game 1. (Sorry, Swifties, it was boys' night out.) D-backs confident 'we're going to show up' after Game 1 loss After cruising through the first two rounds this postseason, the D-backs hit a speed bump in Game 1 of the NLCS. Yet despite trailing early, Arizona brought the tying run to the plate in both the eighth and ninth innings. For Astros, there's no place like ... the road? Houston heads to Arlington having won 16 of its past 19 games away from Minute Maid Park. Scherzer to start ALCS Game 3 for Rangers Sidelined since Sept. 13 with a low-grade shoulder sprain, Max Scherzer will get the ball when Texas returns home on Wednesday. Béisbol de Postemporada NLCS Watch D-backs vs. Phillies Game 2 in Spanish exclusively on MLB Network at 8 p.m. ET. MORE STORIES © 2023 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. MLB trademarks and copyrights are used with permission of Major League Baseball. Visit MLB.com. Any other marks used herein are trademarks of their respective owners. Please review our Privacy Policy. You (gahleexholly.hdhask@blogger.com) received this message because you registered to receive commercial email messages from MLB.com. Please add info@mail.mlblists.com to your address book to ensure our messages reach your inbox. If you no longer wish to receive commercial email messages from MLB.com, please unsubscribe or log in and manage your email subscriptions. Postal Address: MLB.com, c/o MLB Advanced Media, L.P., 1271 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.