The Philadelphia Phillies had a fifth-ranked payroll of $245.4 million in Major League Baseball this season. It was money well spent.
For the second straight year, the Phillies defeated the favored Atlanta Braves in the National League Division Series, closing out a taut 3-1, Game 4 victory in front of their rabid home fans at Citizens Bank Park Thursday night.
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Atlanta won 104 regular-season games but joined MLB’s other 100-win teams, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Baltimore Orioles, in an early playoff exit.