Phillies sent packing in crushing Game 7 loss to Diamondbacks
Final Score: Diamondbacks 4, Phillies 2
An incredible 2023 season for the Philadelphia Phillies came to an end on Tuesday in a crushing 4-2 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks in Game 7 of the National League Championship Series.
Arizona took the lead on a pair of hits in the fifth and did not look back. The Phillies bats failed to capitalize with runners in scoring position, going 1-for-10 on the night.
The D-Backs did what they were built to do. They grinded out at-bats, found holes, stole bases and exploited matchups with their bullpen to pull off a massive upset.
The Phillies pressed their way to defeat. They chased too many pitches out of the zone and struck out 10 times.
Arizona erased a 2-0 series deficit with two come-from-behind wins at Chase Field and took both games in Philadelphia when not many expected them to.
They will head to the World Series for a matchup with the Texas Rangers while the Phillies will go home and wonder what could have been if they were able to knock the D-Backs out when they were down.
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Just like the last winner-take-all Phillies game, the opposing team scored a run in the top of the first. Arizona took advantage of Suárez’s shaky command of his curveball and had runners on the corners with one out for Christian Walker, who grounded into an RBI fielder’s choice.
It’s the first time the Phillies allowed a run to score in the first inning this postseason.
The Phillies weren’t down for long as Alec Bohm jumped on a first-pitch high-and-inside sinker to tie the game up in the bottom of the second inning.
Both teams combined to go 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position through three innings. In the third, Brandon Marsh led off with a single and Johan Rojas moved him to second on a successful sacrifice bunt. Marsh was stranded after Kyle Schwarber struck out looking and Trea Turner grounded to third to end the inning.
In the fourth, the Phillies took the lead. Bohm worked a walk and scored on a double in the gap from Bryson Stott. The next batter J.T. Realmuto singled to left, but Stott was unable to score on the play after holding up until the ball got through the infield.
In what turned out to be a crucial at-bat, Nick Castellanos struck out swinging and Pfaadt worked around Marsh to load the bases for Rojas, who looked overmatched at the plate and struck out swinging to strand the bases loaded.
Some were calling for the Phillies to pinch hit for Rojas in that spot, but the options were not great. If Jake Cave was summoned off the bench, Torey Luvollo would have countered with lefty Joe Mantiply. Edmundo Sosa or Cristian Pache were really the only options in that spot and for the Phillies, the better bet was to take your chances with Rojas and keep him in center field.
The D-Backs responded an inning later. Emmanuel Rivera led off the inning with a single and No. 9 batter Geraldo Perdomo laid down a sacrifice bunt. Suárez struck out Ketel Marte for a third time but allowed a single to Corbin Carroll, his third of the game, to tie it up.
Jeff Hoffman was summoned from the bullpen and allowed a single to Gabriel Moreno that gave Arizona a 3-2 lead. Moreno was caught in between first and second for the final out.
It was the D-Backs playing their brand of baseball, minus the run down. Three singles quickly turned into two runs thanks to Carroll’s speed on the bases and grit at the plate.
It’s not something we saw until the series returned to Philly for Game 6. From Games 1 through 5, Carroll was 1-for-15 with no stolen bases. In the final two games, Carroll went 4-for-8 with two stolen bases.
As the BABIP Gods rewarded the D-Backs, the Phillies hit line out after line out and had nothing to show for it. Harper’s two outs in the fourth and fifth inning were off the bat at over 100 mph.
Arizona increased the lead in the seventh. With two men in scoring position following the first extra-base hit of the night by Marte, Carroll drove in his second run of the game on a sacrifice fly.
The Phillies then fired their last best shot from the bullpen and brought in Zack Wheeler for his first career bullpen appearance. He struck out Moreno to strand the runner on second.
Facing lefty Andrew Saalfrank, pinch hitter Cristian Pache and Schwarber worked walks to set up two on and one out for Turner.
Arizona turned to their best righty, Kevin Ginkel, to pitch to Turner and Harper. The Phillies shortstop wailed at two sliders out of the zone and Harper flew out to end yet another chance to capitalize with runners in scoring position.
The Phillies stayed with their ace until the top of the ninth. He faced six batters and allowed only one walk in a heroic performance that could have been storybook if the Phillies bats were able to mount a comeback.
With the bottom of the order due up in the ninth against Paul Sewald, Castellanos, Marsh and pinch hitter Jake Cave flew out to end the game.
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