The Philadelphia Phillies are up two games to nothing, and the Arizona Diamondbacks go battle for the next two games, three if necessary, at Chase Field in Arizona.
Let's review how it got to this point and some key factors determining today's game.
Road to the NLCS: Arizona Diamondbacks
The Arizona Diamondbacks ended the regular season with a solid record of 84-78, but losing the last six games out of nine put away any hope of a better wildcard spot.
They started the postseason with a shocking 2-0 sweep of the NL Central champion Milwaukee Brewers on the road and a sweep of their division rival Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS.
Rookie of the Year candidate Corbin Carrol has been the biggest surprise of the year, as he not only has shined in the regular season but has had a .333 batting average and two home runs in his postseason debut.
The pitching for the Diamondbacks has been solid when it matters in October, but they ran into a juggernaut offense in the first two games of the NLDS.
Road to the NLCS: Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies ended their NL title run in the regular season, grabbing the top wildcard spot at 90-72 (which would have won two other divisions in the MLB).
The Phillies started the postseason by sweeping their NL East rival Miami Marlins two games to nothing at home.
Following their second year in a row with a Wild card sweep, they again found themselves playing and beating the Braves by a series score of 3-1. As easy as it is to point out the explosion of the Phillies’ hitters (Harper, Schwarber, Castellanos, Turner), it would be a shame not to look at the sheer dominance of the Phillies' pitching.
Led by Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola, the pitching has only given up 12 total runs in eight playoff games (2 of which were on errors).
Game 1 of the NLCS:
The first game's pitching matchup was Zack Wheeler vs. Zac Gallen, which was in Citizens Bank Park's wild atmosphere.
The first pitch of the bottom of the first inning was a Kyle Schwarber 420-foot HR to right field, then two batters later, Bryce Harper hit the ball the same distance, making it a 2-0 Phillies lead after one.
The second inning didn't fare much better for Gallen, as Nick Castellanos hit an opposite-field line drive home run over Corbin Carrol to make it 3-0. On his 31st birthday, Bryce Harper put the Phillies up 4-0 with a single to right field while Tre Turner scored in the 3rd inning, and JT Realmuto added another run to the scoreboard in the 5th inning with an RBI single to Left field.
Zac Gallen ended the day with 88 pitches in five-inning, allowing five earned runs.
Zack Wheeler was in command until the 6th inning, where he walked Evan Longoria and gave up a rare two-run home run to Geraldo Perdomo, making it 5-2 after an 81-pitch 6-inning night.
Phillies reliever Seranthony Dominguez made it interesting for the D-backs after giving up a sac fly to make the score 5-3, but they never gave up as they often do.
Closer Craig Kimbrel recorded his third postseason save as Philadelphia won 5-3.
Game 2 of the NLCS:
Another game in Citizens Bank Park featuring Aaron Nola vs. Merril Kelly.
The game started very similar to the night before, but this time, it was Trea Turner hitting the solo HR for the Phillies.
Kelly began to lose his command after Schwarber hit back-to-back home runs off him as the Phillies cruised to a 10-0 Victory.
Game 3 Preview:
Today's game features Phillies battle-tested lefty Ranger Suarez vs the D-Backs Brandon Pfaadt. The game will be played in the warm state of Arizona at Chase Field.
The key to the game will be which pitcher can last the longest since the D-Backs used a decent amount of bullpen guys, so they are less fresh than the Phillies.
With it not being a Phillies pitcher named Nola or Wheeler, it gives the D Backs a sigh of relief in a sense. However, Ranger Suarez pitched very well in games one and four vs the MLB’s best offense in the Atlanta Braves.
Prediction:
I am predicting a 6-5 Phillies dub on the road to make it a 3-0 series count.
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