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Good morning to everyone but especially …
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THE ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS
A few weeks ago, the 84-win Diamondbacks were a nice story with some nice young pieces and a well-earned playoff appearance to show for it. Nothing more, nothing less. Then they swept the Brewers. Then they swept the Dodgers. Now, they’ve come back to shock the Phillies and advance to the World Series after securing a 4-2 Game 7 victory in Philadelphia.
As it turns out, these snakes are lethal.
- Corbin Carroll, quiet most of the series, became the first player ever to have three hits and multiple steals in a Game 7. Fittingly, he also caught the final out.
- Carroll wasn’t the only youngster to star. Fellow rookie Brandon Pfaadt threw four solid innings, and second-year catcher Gabriel Moreno had two hits, including the go-ahead RBI single.
- Ketel Marte was named NLCS MVP after running his postseason hitting streak to 16 games — a record to begin a career.
- Five Arizona relievers combined for five scoreless innings. The late-inning guys — Kevin Ginkel and Paul Sewald — were lights-out again. Overall, they threw 8 2/3 shutout innings in this series.
- Arizona’s 84 regular-season wins are third-fewest by a World Series team in a 162-game season.
I cannot say enough good things about these Diamondbacks. They could have folded after trailing the series 2-0 or when going on the road down 3-2. Plenty of teams have. Plenty of teams will. But not these Diamondbacks. Maybe they’re too young to know any better. Maybe they have the right veterans in place to know how to handle the pressure. More likely, it’s a combination of both.
They’ll face the Rangers in the World Series, and we’ll have plenty of preview content coming. But for now, celebrate like crazy, Diamondbacks fans. You’re cheering on an awesome team.
👍 Honorable mentions
😓 And not such a good morning for …
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THE PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES
Citizens Bank Park had been a fortress for the Phillies and a house of horrors for opponents all postseason. Then the magic disappeared.
- Trea Turner and Bryce Harper went a combined 0 for 15 over Games 6 and 7. Both had been on fire before that.
- Nick Castellanos hit .391 — with plenty of heroic and historic moments — in the Wild Card Series and NLDS combined. He went 1 for 24 (.042) in the NLCS.
- With chances to close things out, Aaron Nola and Ranger Suárez — both with terrific postseason numbers — struggled, forcing the Phillies to lean heavily on a bullpen that cost them earlier in the series.
That’s baseball. Matt Snyder has the anatomy of the meltdown, including …
- Snyder: “Craig Kimbrel — 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. … It didn’t take long for Kimbrel to blow it. … The bottom line is the Phillies win this series in five if Kimbrel doesn’t throw Game 4 away.”
It’ll be a long offseason in Philadelphia.
👎 Not so honorable mentions
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