Phillies win 3-1, beat Braves in season finale

Game 162 is in the books. With a 3-1 win against the Braves, most interesting, frustrating, vexing, perplexing season in six years has come to an end.

This Phillies team may not have been the most successful team, or the most exciting team. But they were a necessary team. These Phillies had to exist to give us whatever is going to come next.

And whatever comes next might be great and amazing, or it might not. But this is what trying looks like. Trying is frustrating because it doesn’t always work, but they’re moving forward with a philosophy and a plan. We may agree or we might disagree with what they do, but what comes next will be at the very least be interesting and fascinating.

There’s no 100% foolproof way to rebuild a team and win a championship. The Phillies are trying it their way. And this is the kind of season that has to happen as they figure things out.

Despite the frustrating end, these 2018 Phillies had moments of greatness. And almost as a tribute to a season of unexpected delight, starting pitcher Ranger Suarez smacked a triple for his first major league hit.

It’s the first time a Phillies pitcher had tripled since Jeremy Hellickson in April of 2017! Cesar Hernandez also hit a lead-off home run to start things off. It was a good, if nerve-wracking, game.

I could talk more about it, but the game is in the past now. It’s over, just like the 2018 season. I’m sad to see it go. But I know the future holds a lot of promise for the Phillies, and a lot of change. The future is still unwritten, a blank sheet of paper with an endless number of lines. I’m excited to see what comes next.

Thanks for staying with us all season, friends.