There's an unexpected celebration in Philadelphia as Bryce Harper and his Phillies teammates are on their way to the National League Championship Series. The third-place finisher in the NL East defeated the division-winning Atlanta Braves by an 8-3 margin to clinch the NLDS.

Harper, one of the hitting heroes of the postseason for the Phillies in the first two series, belted a homer as Philadelphia earned a 3-1 triumph in the series. The Phillies split the first two games in Atlanta and won both games played at raucous Citizens Bank Park.

The Braves finished 14 games ahead of the Phillies during the regular season.

Philadelphia used the long ball repeatedly in the series, as Brandon Marsh and J.T. Realmuto also hit home runs in the clincher. Marsh belted a three-run shot, while Realmuto hit a rare inside-the-park home run, propelling the Phillies to the NLCS for the first time since 2010.

Bryce Harper and the Phillies will face the San Diego Padres or Los Angeles Dodgers for the opportunity to play in the World Series. The Padres lead that series 2-1 heading into Game 4, scheduled for Saturday night.

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Philadelphia defeated the St. Louis Cardinals in the Wild Card Series before getting the best of the Braves. The Phillies are the No.  6 seed in the National League playoffs.

“We had ups and downs during the season, just like any other club does. But they knew that they were going to come out of it at some point and start winning again,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “And we did.”

The Phillies appear to be on a magical ride, and now they wait for a winner between the Dodgers and Padres to see if it can continue.