Dancing again | Sports Daily Newsletter

It wasn’t just Nick Castellanos’ two homers — although it was a neat piece of history. It wasn’t just Trea Turner’s long ball or Johan Rojas’ clutch running grab, either.

It was all of those plays, and more, that lifted the Phillies to a 3-1 series-clinching win over the Braves in Game 4 of the National League Division Series. They’re still Dancing, baby, and they’ve set up a date with the Arizona Diamondbacks with a National League pennant on the line. Winner heads to Texas to battle for a World Series.

Manager Rob Thomson marveled pregame about how “eerie” the similarities between last year’s World Series team and this one were — right down to everyone playing a key role.

Thursday night, it was Castellanos, playing in front of a son he hasn’t seen “in over a month” along with Turner, Rojas, and the bullpen, as five relievers held the increasingly desperate Braves at bay.

And ultimately sent them packing for the winter.

⚾ Where the Phillies stand: After beating the Braves in four games in the NLDS, they’re in the National League Championship Series for the second consecutive year. They’ll face the Arizona Diamondbacks at 8:07 p.m. Monday. The game will be televised on TBS.

— Maria McIlwain, @phillysport, sports.daily@inquirer.com.

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To fully appreciate Thursday night’s series-clinching victory, wind the clock back a couple of days. The Phillies were bruised. They held a substantial lead in Game 2, only to see it slip away as the Braves stole a 5-4 series-tying victory.

But that proved to be the final game this season in Atlanta. The Phillies took that punch in the face, got up off the mat, and delivered a few blows of their own. Nick Castellanos, he of the quote, “We thrive when we get punched in the face, man,” delivered two of those with two swings of the bat in the final NLDS game of the 2023 season. Marcus Hayes offers his take on the 3-1 victory.

The Phillies are more than just NLDS champions. They’re World Series favorites after beating the Braves in four games, David Murphy writes.

Next: The NLCS against the Diamondbacks starts Monday at Citizens Bank Park (8:07 p.m., TBS).

It was the Flyers’ first game of the 2023-24 season, but they were partying like it was 2021.

The Flyers welcomed back a pair of key players, Sean Couturier and Cam Atkinson, who missed all of last season with injuries. And both of them notched points, Couturier assisting on the first goal of the season and Atkinson adding a late empty-netter.

The Flyers, still rebuilding but finally healthy, had a quiet confidence about them in their season-opening win. Jeff Neiburg has the full story from Ohio.

Now in Columbus, former Flyer Ivan Provorov had a lot to say about his former team.

Next: The Flyers remain on the road for a Saturday afternoon contest at the Ottawa Senators (1 p.m., NBCSP).

Jalen Carter popped up on the injury report with an ankle injury that caused him to miss practice Thursday. His absence comes after he twice sacked Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford last Sunday.

On the bright side for the Eagles, Fletcher Cox returned as a full participant in practice after missing the Rams game with a back injury.

Next: The Eagles visit the New York Jets on Sunday (4:25 p.m., Fox29).

Kelly Oubre scored 20.3 points per game last season, yet he lingered in the free-agency market and ultimately signed with the 76ers in September. Part of that is because his numbers were borne more out of high volume (17.1 attempts per game) than efficiency (49.7 effective field-goal percentage). But Oubre is aware that his offense could take a backseat this year with reigning MVP Joel Embiid, rising star Tyrese Maxey, and James Harden (if he plays in Philly).

“But, at the end of the day, I know that I can bring a bigger piece of myself to this team and help this team win and go further than me scoring 20 points every game,” he said.

Next: The Sixers travel to face the Brooklyn Nets in their penultimate preseason game on Monday (7 p.m., NBA TV).

In the zone: This Cardinal O’Hara senior linebacker had never blocked a kick. Now he has two after keying an upset win over Conwell-Egan.

Local ties: The Navy soccer roster features four players from the Philadelphia area. They’re in for a bit of a homecoming in tonight’s game against Army at Subaru Park.

Sneak attack: Here’s why UMass could prove challenging for Penn State.

Parting ways: It looks like Union stalwarts Alejandro Bedoya and Kai Wagner won’t be back next season.

We asked you: Has there been a more clutch postseason performer in Philadelphia than Bryce Harper? Name someone who rivals him. Among your responses:

Harper is by far the most clutch postseason player for the Phillies in their history. I checked out three others who I remember having great postseason heroics. None of these had the number of heroic results, nor were they consistently great in postseason. Schmidt batted .236 in 36 games (only 4 HRs). Victorino batted .257 in 60 games (7 HRs). Carlton was only 6-6 in 16 post season appearances (3.26 ERA). Harper’s stats alone put him at the top, and it seems that he rises to the occasion every time. In his two post season appearances with the Phillies so far, he has played in 22 games, had 28 hits, a .351 BA, 9 HR’s, 18 RBIs, 19 runs, and a .472 on base percentage. He has been dynamic in both post seasons. And what really sets him apart is that he has yet to fail when the occasion calls for him to be great. Chances are, he will have many more occasions after this year. — Jay W.

During my 75 years as a Phillies fan I cannot think of any player who rivals Bryce. I remember some outstanding clutch moments, but nothing like last night’s performance and his Ruthian statement in the rain last year against the Padres, “Let’s give them something to remember.” My first great clutch memory goes back to 1950 when Dick Sisler hit the 3 run 10th inning home run against the Dodgers in Ebbetts Field Brooklyn to win our first Pennant since 1915. I listened to that on the radio as a 12 year old. Johnny Callison’s 2 out 3 run walk-off home run to win the 1964 All-Star game is one to never be forgotten. There are other great clutch memories such as Gary Matthews in 1983 against the Dodgers in the Championship Series and Matt Stairs 2008 clutch home run also against the Dodgers. — Everett S.

Harper is by far the most clutch player in Phillies history. Chase Utley is a close second. He has pretty respectable post season stats to back him. — Kathy T.

The Eagles visit the New York Jets on Sunday. Join Eagles beat reporters Olivia Reiner and EJ Smith as they dissect the hottest story lines surrounding the team on Gameday Central, live from MetLife Stadium.

We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Scott Lauber, David Murphy, Marcus Hayes, Jeff Neiburg, EJ Smith, Gina Mizell, Aaron Carter, Kerith Gabriel, Max Ralph, and Jonathan Tannenwald.