PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Get ready, London. Some guys on the Phillies mentioned Bryce, Bohm and… Big Stick Nick are ready to show Europe what it is like stay loose and sexy, baby.
Do they like double-deckers there?
Cool, just forget the buses, what’s up? Black bombs? You know, those orbital home runs are slower Kyle Schwarber likes to send to the second decks of stadiums in Major League baseball.
Crown them?
Not yet, that’s what the postseason is for, but the Phillies were supposed to get on a plane Wednesday night with about 100 loungers and a Cross-Atlantic flight to London as the best team in the National League.
That counts for something in their weekend in the spotlight while they play two games against NL East rival New York Mets on Saturday and Sunday at the London Stadium for the league’s third visit to the country in the past five years.
The Phillies scored all seven points in a three-game series against the Milwaukee Brewers, good enough to beat the NL Central leaders and maintain a whopping eight-game lead over Atlanta in the NL East.
“This is the first time that me and many of us are going to play baseball in Europe,” right fielder Nick Castellanos said. “But there are two important baseball games we are going to play there.”
Castellanos played a crucial role in the 5-1 homestand, hitting the game-winning double in the 10th inning of Tuesday’s win and then hit a two-run shot in a 2-0 win over the Brewers on Wednesday.
Behind Aaron Nola and two relievers, the Phillies threw their seventh shutout of the season. The Phillies allowed just 10 runs over the six games at Citizens Bank Park.
They hope so The success is transferred to Great Britain.
Philadelphia has a practice day Friday and many players and coaches were hoping to explore the sights ahead of the two-game series.
“I’m not a fan but I always watch World War II stuff,” said manager Rob Thomson. “I’m interested in the buildings, the architecture and all things historical.”
A tour sounds fun.
As long as they can stay awake.
The Phillies left on May 23 for a road trip with stops in Denver and San Francisco before returning to Philly. Including Wednesday’s flight, the Phillies say they will have traveled 8,000 miles across 13 time zones by the time they land in Europe.
“We’re supposed to sleep, right? So when we get there, we don’t get tired,” Castellanos said. “That’s what our sleep schedule tells us to do: sleep as soon as the plane takes off.”
But who can blame them if they get caught up in the same excitement about a season that has made baseball so much fun in Philadelphia? With a first pitch at 10:10 a.m. set for Sunday in Philadelphia, area bars are all busy offering breakfast and baseball happy hours in the morning. Even some of the player’s wives and girlfriends have talked about planning a proper afternoon tea while in London.
“It will be like a playoff atmosphere,” Thomson said. “We can’t wait to get there, we really can.”
