Bryce Harper slugged his fifth homer of the postseason, powering the Philadelphia Phillies past the San Diego Padres 4-3 on Sunday and into the World Series for the first the time since 2009.
Rhys Hoskins also hit a two-run homer in Game 5 of the NL Championship Series to spark Philadelphia’s first shot at its first World Series championship since 2008.
Harper’s hitting earned him the NLCS MVP award.
Philadelphia will take on Houston which swept the New York Yankees in the ALCS. The World Series will begin Friday night in Houston.
** Philadelphia finished third in the NL East at 87-75, a full 14 games behind the 101-win Braves this season, and were the last club in the majors to make the 12-team playoff field.. After a 2-0 sweep of NL Central champion St. Louis in MLB’s newly created wild-card round, the Phillies needed only four games to knock out Atlanta, the defending World Series champs.
