DYERSVILLE, Iowa -- The movie tells you it's not just a baseball field in the middle of an Iowa cornfield -- it's a place where dreams come true.
It's where "Shoeless" Joe Jackson got a chance to play baseball again. It's where "Moonlight" Graham finally got that elusive plate appearance against a big league pitcher that he'd waited for his whole life. It's where Kevin Costner's character, Ray Kinsella, played catch (had a catch?) with his late dad.
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But the Phillies' dream was never going to be realized on an August night in Iowa. Their dream, as it's been for a few years now, is all about October.
Still, on this particular night, the Phillies -- playing in the third rendition of the MLB at Field of Dreams Game presented by John Deere -- took a much-needed important step in that direction.
The Phillies capped off a day full of incredible scenes with a 7-1 rout of the Twins at the Field of Dreams. Kyle Schwarber led the charge offensively with his second multihomer game in less than a week, but the most encouraging sign was another solid outing by Aaron Nola.
Not only did the veteran right-hander show no ill-effects from the right knee contusion that forced him from his last outing, but Nola continues to look more and more like his old self. He tied a season high with nine strikeouts while allowing just one run over five innings.
“It was really nice to pitch in one of these games; really nice to pitch here,” said Nola, who did not get to pitch at either of the Phillies’ two appearances at the Little League Classic, nor either of their games in London. “Beautiful field, beautiful scenery, fans were great. So it was really cool to check this one off, and I definitely will look back at this later on in my career and after I’m done.”
More important in the short term is the fact that Nola has a 2.91 ERA over his past four starts, and he's allowed three runs or fewer in 12 of his past 15.
“Obviously, it's been an up-and-down season, but lately I've been feeling really good,” Nola said. “I don't have that 95-100 mph like a lot of these guys do, so I just have to find ways to get outs. For me, it's about going out there and competing and finding any way I can to get the hitter out and limit the runs and damage.”
Nola did exactly that against the Twins. Facing what would be his last hitter, Nola escaped a bases-loaded jam by striking out Royce Lewis -- the potential tying run -- on three pitches.
“He just keeps making adjustments,” interim manager Don Mattingly said. “ … He’s had to learn to pitch without the 96 [mph], which speeds guys up. He's got to be locating, he's got to be changing speeds, he’s got to be keeping guys off balance -- a great example of that tonight.”
That could be a pivotal development for a Phillies team that woke up Thursday morning to find itself sitting outside of the 12-team postseason field. It was the first time the Phillies began the day not in postseason position since the morning of June 4.
“We know what's at stake. We all know the writing on the wall,” Schwarber said. “We know that, for where we need to go, we need to step up in a lot of different ways in a lot of different areas, and I feel like our team is ready for that. We know the road ahead.”
The win put the Phillies a half-game ahead of the D-backs for the final NL Wild Card spot. It's going to be a race to the finish over the final 39 games, but perhaps this victory in the middle of a cornfield helps get the Phillies back on track.
“Maybe the boys needed a little shock like today,” said outfielder Brandon Marsh, who provided some late insurance with a two-run homer of his own into the corn. “Hopefully this is a little spark for us to turn it on for this push.”
They better hope so if they want to realize that dream come October.