are about to find out what kind of punchers they are, what kind of heart they have and what kind of undeterred survivors they can be.
In one night, this became the Phillies’ series to lose. Sure, they grabbed home-field advantage by splitting in San Diego. It hardly felt that way, though, with the roaring four-run comeback in front of roaring Petco Park in Game 2 with crunch-time anchor Joe Musgrove waiting to take the ball Friday.
In the early innings, all the Padres offense towed an asterisk along for the ride. In the first inning, Jake Cronenworth’s single came on a fisted, spinning ball at 35.7 mph that side-hopped in front of third baseman Alec Bohm like a PGA Tour player hitting a wedge at a flag stick. There was the “sun ball” in the second inning of Game 2. A game later, he found himself stumbling to run down Bryson Stott’s second-inning liner that skipped to the wall — a very possible out converted to a double. Four innings later, Soto raced in to dive at a drive from Bohm as another ball ended up at the wall.Also undeniable is the fact Soto has looked awkward on angles, footwork and decision-making as the defensive stakes rise in the NLCS.
“I don’t feel like I was at my best tonight,” Musgrove said. “You never know what you’re gonna get when you go out there, but today is the worst I felt for a while, so to manage the game … I didn’t have my best stuff, I’d like to go out there and get it again .”