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Brandon Drury hit a go-ahead, two-run single during a five-run rally in the fifth inning and the Padres stunned Aaron Nola and the Phillies 8-5 on Wednesday to tie their all-wild card NL Championship Series at one game apiece.
The outburst started with Padres catcher Austin Nola hitting an RBI single off his younger brother, Aaron, that brought the sellout, towel-twirling crowd of 44,607 at Petco Park to life. Three innings earlier, the Phillies had taken a 4-0 lead with a rally that included bloop hits, a sun-aided double on a gorgeous, 92-degree afternoon and some shoddy Padres defense.
But just as they did Saturday night in eliminating the 111-win Dodgers, the Padres were spurred by the bottom of their lineup in a big comeback.
“We both knew we were going to do everything we can to help our team,” said Austin Nola, the No. 9 batter for San Diego. “That was kind of understood — the magnitude of the game, the magnitude of the situation, there was not going to be anything given up on both sides.”
Drury and Josh Bell hit back-to-back homers for the Padres, and Manny Machado went deep late.
The series will shift to Philadelphia for three games beginning Friday night. The Phillies, trying to reach the World Series for the first time since 2009, outscored the Braves 17-4 in two home Division Series games last weekend to eliminate Atlanta, the defending World Series champions.
Aaron Nola said facing his brother in the NLCS was “the same as what it was the first time we played each other. We are trying to win, they are trying to win, that is what it comes down to.
“I want to beat him.
