The Arizona Diamondbacks forced a Game 7 in the NLCS thanks to the early offensive bites and strong pitching.
With that said, this win-or-go-home game at the end of the series is the first Game 7 for the Philadelphia Phillies in their 140-year history, according to MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki.
That’s … CRAZY — just, 140.YEAR.HISTORY.
D-backs second baseman Ketel Marte went 2-for-5 with a triple and two RBI. He also stole third base. He continued his hot postseason hitting in each of his 15 playoff games.
Yes, the numbers just continue to get more insane.
Merrill Kelly got the start and struck out eight in five innings, giving up just three hits, walking three.
The bullpen came in and took care of the rest.
Heading into the game, Arizona manager Torey Lovullo knew it wasn’t going to be the last one. He also knew there didn’t need a specific message to be dictated to his team, but he wasn’t going all the way to the East Coast for nothing.
“No,” Lovullo said during his pregame press conference. “I think this team is just internally motivated. I talked about an external motivation the other day. It seemed to catch a little wind. I didn’t mean for it to get that way, but our team is extremely focused and centered on coming here and playing our best baseball game. We can’t look past Game 7. As I’ve said, anything can happen in Game 7. It’s wide open. It’s a crap shoot.”
“Getting there is really important, so we have that all-in mentality. We didn’t come cross-country to get our asses kicked. We came here to play our best baseball game, and our guys will be ready to go.”
They certainly were.
Game 7 will be on Tuesday at 8:07 pm ET at Citizen Bank Park.
About Jessica Kleinschmidt
Jess is a baseball fan with Reno, Nev. roots residing in the Bay Area. She is the host of "Short and to the Point" and is also a broadcaster with the Oakland A's Radio Network. She previously worked for MLB.com and NBC Sports Bay Area.