Alek Thomas shined and set a franchise record Arizona Diamondbacks relief pitcher Luis Frias, left, celebrates with catcher Gabriel Moreno after Diamondbacks.
In the NL Series, the Arizona Diamondbacks faced off against the Los Angeles Dodgers, who got off to a terrible start, with the experienced Clayton Kershaw beating an Arizona roster that included Corbin Carroll, Gabriel Moreno and Tommy Pham. Kershaw got a standing ovation when he came out, but the standing ovation died down completely when Clayton went out and allowed 6 runs in the first inning alone. It’s the first time a three-time Cy Young winner has been retired after one inning.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts planned for Kershaw to throw about 85 innings, but the Diamondbacks’ massive offense changed his plans. Alek Thomas shined for the Diamondbacks Merrill Kelly, meanwhile, had a stellar performance, allowing just three hits in the entire six innings he was on the mound. Arizona’s manager called him up in the sixth when they were still up 6-0. The Diamondbacks turn Clayton Kershaw’s applause into total silence and then replace him with Emmet Sheehan, who takes the mound to help the Dodgers secure their remaining two outs.
No one in a #Dbacks uniform hit more in a postseason game than Tommy tonight. Meanwhile, Alek Thomas surprised everyone at Dodgers Stadium when he had the longest inning in MLB playoff history at 14 pitches. Thomas later connected on a 104 mph swing and hit a fly ball 427 feet to make it 10-0 for the visiting team.
According to Sarah Langs at MLB, Thomas broke the record, which was set in 1988 when it was originally measured; the record was not only an MLB record, but also a franchise record. Almost at the goal line, the Dodgers tried to wake up and scored two runs to close the game on an 11-2 run.
