NLCS: Three reasons why Philly is heading home instead of back to the World Series
The Arizona Diamondbacks are headed to the World Series. How about that one, huh? A team that lost 110 games in 2021 is headed to the 2023 World Series. They needed to win four of five games in order to do so, which means the Phillies blew a 2-0 lead. They also had a 3-2 lead going home, where they hadn’t yet lost in the playoffs, and the Diamondbacks won two to take the series in shocking fashion.
So how did it happen? How did the Phillies blow a 2-0 and 3-2 lead in the NLCS? Let’s take a look.
1. The Diamondbacks played well
First things first, I absolutely loathe fully putting the blame on one team in a series while glossing over the exploits of the winning team. The Diamondbacks won this series by playing great baseball. Give lots of credit to the Games 6 and 7 Arizona starting pitchers Merrill Kelly and Brandon Pfaadt. Pfaadt had an amazing series and kept his team in a nail-biter in Game 3. The bullpen group of Paul Sewald, Kevin Ginkel, Ryan Thompson and Andrew Saalfrank were great.
Offensively, Ketel Marte was a star (and MVP). Corbin Carroll showed up with an incredible Game 7. Alek Thomas and Gabriel Moreno got some huge hits. How about Geraldo Perdomo getting seven hits from the nine hole and playing his customary excellent defense at shortstop? Tommy Pham didn’t do much in the series, but his home run in Game 6 set the tone. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. played really well in Games 6 and 7.
The Diamondbacks were great. When it was 2-0 Phillies, most people — including myself, I’ll own it — believed the series was over and it might not even come back to Philadelphia. Instead, the D-backs scratched and clawed their way to two wins to shift the series back to Citizens Bank Park and then played two of the best games they played all year to clinch the NL pennant.
Please, give them credit and an even greater plea: Don’t misconstrue the rest of this piece as taking anything away from the D-backs.
The Arizona Diamondbacks are headed to the World Series. How about that one, huh? A team that lost 110 games in 2021 is headed to the 2023 World Series. They needed to win four of five games in order to do so, which means the Phillies blew a 2-0 lead. They also had a 3-2 lead going home, where they hadn’t yet lost in the playoffs, and the Diamondbacks won two to take the series in shocking fashion.
So how did it happen? How did the Phillies blow a 2-0 and 3-2 lead in the NLCS? Let’s take a look.
First things first, I absolutely loathe fully putting the blame on one team in a series while glossing over the exploits of the winning team. The Diamondbacks won this series by playing great baseball. Give lots of credit to the Games 6 and 7 Arizona starting pitchers Merrill Kelly and Brandon Pfaadt. Pfaadt had an amazing series and kept his team in a nail-biter in Game 3. The bullpen group of Paul Sewald, Kevin Ginkel, Ryan Thompson and Andrew Saalfrank were great.
Offensively, Ketel Marte was a star (and MVP). Corbin Carroll showed up with an incredible Game 7. Alek Thomas and Gabriel Moreno got some huge hits. How about Geraldo Perdomo getting seven hits from the nine hole and playing his customary excellent defense at shortstop? Tommy Pham didn’t do much in the series, but his home run in Game 6 set the tone. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. played really well in Games 6 and 7.
The Diamondbacks were great. When it was 2-0 Phillies, most people — including myself, I’ll own it — believed the series was over and it might not even come back to Philadelphia. Instead, the D-backs scratched and clawed their way to two wins to shift the series back to Citizens Bank Park and then played two of the best games they played all year to clinch the NL pennant.
Please, give them credit and an even greater plea: Don’t misconstrue the rest of this piece as taking anything away from the D-backs.
In Game 3, Kimbrel entered the game with a 1-1 tie in the bottom of the ninth. He would walk two and allow two singles while only recording one out. The Diamondbacks won the game to cut the Phillies’ series lead to 2-1.
In Game 4, the Phillies took a 5-3 lead to the bottom of the eighth. Tasking an MLB reliever with a holding a two-run lead for six outs shouldn’t be a tall order. It didn’t take long for Kimbrel to blow it. He allowed a double before a lineout. And then Alek Thomas hit a pinch-hit, two-run homer to tie the game.
