“The tension is terrible. I hope it lasts.” So said Willy Wonka (the popular Gene Wilder version, to be precise). Few Phillies fans would have said the same thing in recent days. The tension was indeed terrible (or at least annoying), but in Philly it was a most unwelcome houseguest. And so hopes rested on Aaron Nola. It was only fitting that the team’s longest-serving member was given the task of ending the team’s division title drought.

The Series opener pitted Nola against Nate Pearson, two men with the same job but very different responsibilities. Nola was tasked with leading the Phillies through as many innings as possible, while Pearson was tasked with setting the table for a number of bullpen players.

Pearson did his job, pitching a scoreless 1st inning (helped by a superb throw from Cody Bellinger that struck out Kyle Schwarber trying to turn a single into a two-bagger), but the Phillies were able to crack his replacement, Caleb Kilian: Nick Castellanos hit a single and JT Realmuto slammed a ball into deep center; it ended up not as a souvenir, but only because it landed in the green that forms the batter’s eye. The Fightins continued their breakthrough in the 3rd inning, with a solo hit from Schwarber and another score by Trea Turner, who hit a double and Castellanos brought him home with a single.

Meanwhile, Nola did what he did best: kept the Cubbies off the scoreboard. They had only two singles and a walk through the 5th inning.

The Phillies continued to struggle against an increasingly helpless Chicago in the bottom of the 5th inning; Bryce Harper doubled after a small jumper crawling up the 3rd base line, then scored when an attempt to steal 3rd base resulted in two errors by the shortstop and center fielder. The Cubs had men in scoring position in the top of the 6th inning, but Nola kept them from scoring. Progress, but not nearly enough. The Phillies scored a 6th run in their half of the 6th inning when Brandon Marsh worked a walk, was sent to 3rd base by a Johan Rojas single, then scored on a Schwarber GIDP.

But Nola, who had been unflappable until the sixth inning, began to falter in the seventh: The Cubs scored on consecutive doubles by Isaac Paredes and Nico Hoerner, and a walk and bunt single loaded the bases with no outs. Nola was replaced by Matt Strahm, who survived the inning, allowing just one more run.

The Phillies entered the 9th inning with a 4-run lead and three outs separating them from a division title. Carlos Estévez sent two of the first three Cubs back to the dugout, one of them reaching base on an error by Marsh. Mike Tauchman came to the plate. He fought his way to a full count, fouled out a couple times and got a walk. Michael Busch was next. He sent a fly ball to right, where it found the glove of Nick Castellanos. Estévez struck his Kamehameha victory pose. The Fightins rushed to the mound while the Phanatic raised a flag made especially for the occasion. There has been no shortage of celebrations at Citizens Bank Park in recent years, but this particular party hadn’t been seen since 2011.

The Phillies, champions of the National League East, are 93-64 and are back in action tomorrow night at 6:40 p.m.