PHILADELPHIA — The chaos will continue! The Arizona Diamondbacks, baseball's team of destiny this offseason, are headed to the World Series!
The D-backs beat the Philadelphia Phillies 4-2 in a winner-takes-all Game 7 of the National League Championship Series (NLCS) Tuesday night at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.
The D-backs forced Game 7 by handing the Phillies their first loss at home of the playoffs in Game 6 on Monday.
They proved they weren't afraid of this moment in the top of the first by grabbing the first run of Game 7 when soon-to-be rookie of the year Corbin Carroll scored on a fielder's choice hit by first baseman Christian Walker.
Then, rookie Brandon Pfaadt, who pitched a fantastic Game Three of the NLCS, proved he could handle the Philly faithful by striking out Philadelphia's Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper and forcing a groundout from Trea Turner.
The D-backs lead would last until the first pitch of the second inning when Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm hit his first home run of the postseason 401 feet to left to tie the game at one.
That home run woke up the Philly fans, but Pfaadt didn't blink as he got Bryson Stott to fly out and then struck out J.T. Realmuto and Nick Castellanos to end the inning.
However, Phillies starting pitcher Ranger Suarez would match Pfaadt's impressive Game 7 start with one of his own, as Suarez got out of multiple jams and struck out six Diamondbacks hitters in four and two-thirds innings.
The Phillies would find some offense in the fourth inning. Bohm got the offense started with a walk and then scored when Stott hit an RBI double to left-center field to give Philadelphia a 2-1 lead.
But, Pfaadt used two strikeouts to get out of the fourth inning without giving up another run to bring his total in the game to seven. That would be his last inning. Pfaadt threw four innings giving up two hits, two runs and two walks along with the seven strikeouts.
But the 'Answerbacks' showed up once again in the fifth inning as Carroll finally came through with an RBI single to tie the game, which prompted the Phillies to pull Suarez.
Carroll then continued to show why he has been a star for Arizona this season, swiping second base and then taking the lead back when he scored on an RBI single by D-backs catcher, and fellow rookie, Gabriel Moreno.
The D-backs would find some offense of their own in the seventh after the Phillies brought relief pitcher Jose Alvarado into the game. It started with a single from Geraldo Perdomo, which was followed by a double from Ketel Marte. That hit gave Marte the longest hitting streak to start a playoff career in MLB postseason history at 16 games.
The D-backs would get a big insurance run on a sacrifice fly from Corbin Carroll to make it 4-2. That forced the Phillies to pull Alvarado bring ace Zack Wheeler in as a reliever.
Wheeler, who was making his first-ever appearance out of the bullpen, would strike out Gabriel Moreno to end the inning.
The Phillies would threaten in the bottom of the seventh as two runners got on base, but D-backs reliever Kevin Ginkel got flyouts from Trea Turner and Bryce Harper to end the inning.
Ginkel would strike out the side in the eighth and then closer Paul Sewald would pitch a scoreless ninth to win the National League championship, 4-2!
What does this mean?
First and foremost, this means the 2023 Arizona Diamondbacks are going to the World Series where they will play for a championship!
This also means that the D-backs are the eighth team since 1985, when the NLCS expanded to seven games, to force a Game Seven of the NLCS and go on to win the National League Championship and advance to the World Series! They are the fourth team to do that on the road.
The D-backs are also the fifth team to win a best-of-seven series after losing the first two road games in MLB postseason history.
This was the D-backs' second Game 7 victory, with the first being the famous Game 7 win over the New York Yankees in the 2001 World Series.
The D-backs will now move on to their second World Series in team history! They will play the American League Champion Texas Rangers. Game 1 will be on Friday at 5:03 p.m. at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.
Arizona sports
The city of Phoenix is home to five major professional sports league teams; The NFL's Arizona Cardinals, NBA's Phoenix Suns, WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, MLB's Arizona Diamondbacks and NHL's Arizona Coyotes.
The Cardinals have made the State Farm Stadium in Glendale their home turf and the Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix is home to both the Suns and the Mercury. The Indoor Football League’s Arizona Rattlers also play at the Footprint. Phoenix has a soccer team with the USL's Phoenix Rising FC.
The Valley hosts multiple major sporting events on a yearly basis, including college football's Fiesta Bowl and Guaranteed Rate Bowl; the PGA Tour’s highest-attended event, the Waste Management Phoenix Open; NASCAR events each spring and fall; and Cactus League Spring Training.
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