HOW DID THIS HAPPEN? The Arizona Diamondbacks have overcome just about every odd and adversity against them as they have beaten the Philadelphia Phillies 4-3 to earn the final spot in the World Series.
This result really just doesn’t make sense.
Despite having the very worst regular season-record in the playoffs and coming up against NL superpower giants this postseason, the Arizona Diamondbacks are World Series bound as they beat back the Philadelphia Phillies 4-3 in the series. And I really have no idea HOW the Phillies have screwed up this badly.
THIS SERIES RESULT IS UTTERLY INSANE!
I know the Diamondbacks are having one of the greatest Cinderella runs in MLB history with them beating the Milwaukee Brewers (92-70), the LA Dodgers (100-62), and now the Philadelphia Phillies (90-72), it’s utterly insane how this Diamondbacks team won the NL Pennant and is now in the World Series.
I mean, not only has this team spent the last five years outside the playoffs and lost 100+ games just two years ago, but they also are poised to have the 2nd least amount of wins to win a World Series if they come out victorious.
Seriously, in the 120+ history of the MLB, only the 2006 St. Louis Cardinals (83-77) have had less regular season wins and won the World Series than this Diamondback team. And that was only by a single win!
Obviously, we’re still a long ways away from saying the Diamondbacks are the 2023 World Series champions as they still have to face off against a very good Texas Rangers team, but them pushing aside two division winners, a 100+ win team, and the reigning NL champions to be in this spot is remarkable in of itself.
Nevertheless, the real story of this series between the Diamondbacks and the Phillies is how RUTHLESS and SHUTDOWN the Diamondbacks’ pitching was from Game 3-7, and how dreadful the Phillies batting order became. Especially at the top.
If you read my last article about this series, I was raving on and on about how wonderful Philly was playing, how they were breaking postseason hitting records, how they were destroying some of the best teams in the NL, and how they were the clear favorites to win the World Series…so long as they kept hitting as well as they were. And, well, they dried up faster than a grape in the sun.
In the first two games of the series, the Phillies scored 15 runs, had 20 hits, and had hit six home runs with the Phillies top batting order decimating the Diamondbacks pitchers. Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, Trea Turner, and Nick Castellanos were striking gold with nearly every appearance at the plate as they just could not be stopped and were almost singlehandedly carrying the Phillies to blowout victories.
Yes, Zach Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Ranger Suarez, Seranthony Dominguez, and the rest of the Phillies bullpen played fantastic too and actually played that way in all but two of the games (they only allowed 4 or more runs in Games 3 and 6), but it was the Philly hitter that were blowing teams away. Yet, for whatever reason, those same hitters who were knocking bombs out of the park just a week ago, grew colder than the North Pole when the Diamondbacks started coming back into the series.
And, boy, did they come back.
The Diamondback bullpen of Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly, and Brandon Pfaadt really caught fire during Game 3 with Pfaadt throwing 9 strikeouts and gave up just two hits in 5.2 innings as the Phillies got hammered with 13 strikeouts in total and only 3 hits in their Game 3 loss. Then, after a shootout win in Game 4 to tie the Series and a really poor Game 5 (Phillies won 6-1), the Diamondbacks completely shut up shop and ended the Phillies hopes of making it back to the World Series.
In the final two games (which the Diamond backs won 5-1 and then 4-2), they gave up just three runs (only two in Game 7) and had 21 strike outs as the Phillies just couldn’t get to home plate. Sure, they had a few hits (11 in two games) and caused some errors from the Diamondbacks pitchers, but this is still a team that went 84-77 last year! The Phillies SHOULD BE GETTING 11 runs against a team like this.
And what the Diamondback pitchers did to the Phillies star batting order is nothing short of cruel.
Bryce Harper, Nick Castellanos, Trea Turner, and Kyle Schwarber combined for 0 runs, 1 hit, 4 walks (3 of them were for Kyle Schwarber), 0 RBIs, 0 home runs, and had 28 plate appearances for a combined batting average of less than .100. That’s AWFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I don’t want to take away from the Diamondbacks hitters unleashing for 21 hits, 9 runs, and 2 home runs in the final two elimination games, but their pitchers being able to freeze the Phillies’ record-breaking hitters was nothing short of amazing.
And that’s why they are more than deserving of being in the World Series for the first time since their 2001 championship! I know no one predicting the Diamondbacks vs. Rangers as the World Series matchup all the way back in Spring, but these two teams really have been the best and most consistent in baseball since October began!
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