If you’re wondering how the 84-win, sixth-seeded, two-starter-deep, ho-hum Arizona Diamondbacks dispatched the superstar-led Philadelphia Phillies in Game 7 of the National League Championship Series Tuesday night, I present Exhibit A: The seventh inning.
The Diamondbacks were clinging to a one-run lead in the top of the seventh in the lion’s den known as Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. With runners on second and third with one out, following a double by NLCS MVP Ketel Marte, rookie Corbin Carroll faced fireballer José Alvarado and one of the world’s nastiest sinkers.
Carroll is a tremendous talent who soon will become the first Rookie of the Year in Diamondbacks history. He’s also 23. This is his first postseason. And he had just three hits total in his first six games against the Phillies in this series.
In Game 7, Carroll singled and scored in the first inning, singled and stole a base in the third and added an RBI single and scored a run in the fifth. That’s three hits in one night after three hits in a whole week.
In the seventh, Carroll stood at the plate, and saw five straight 99-to-100-mph sinkers: Missing one, taking one and fouling off two, before swinging at the fifth, a 99.8 mph offering from Alvarado, who hadn’t yet given up a run in his previous 7 2/3 postseason innings.
There were no fireworks. No bat flips. No 445-foot majestic homer. Carroll hit a mundane, 305-foot flyout to right at an unremarkable 82.8-mph exit velocity.
The rookie didn’t do too much. Didn’t press or crinkle. Didn’t faint or ask for his mommy. He just delivered a boring sac fly on a blazing, elevated sinker to score an incredibly important insurance run that allowed the Diamondbacks’ relief corps some breathing room in the final three innings.
That’s the 2023 Diamondbacks. In a snapshot. In an at-bat.
Nothing flashy. Nothing eye-popping. They’ve simply gotten the job done when needed.
They’ve pitched well. Defended well. Reached base and then caused chaos on the basepaths, stealing four bags in Tuesday’s clincher alone. Fundamentals, the World Series is calling.
Arizona Diamondbacks go from 110 losses to World Series
This was a franchise that lost 110 games in 2021, that dropped their final four of the 2023 regular season and backed into the playoffs with the worst regular season record in this tournament. They had a brutal road to get to this far, and yet swept the NL Central-winning Milwaukee Brewers, swept the mighty Los Angeles Dodgers and then were down 2-0 and 3-2 to the Phillies.
It was gut-check time in arguably the toughest place to play in baseball.
Frankly, the Phillies should have won this series. They had the experience, the momentum, the crowd, the better and more expensive roster. But they lost 5-1 Monday and 4-2 Tuesday, preventing a return to the World Series for a second consecutive year.
The vaunted Phillies offense scored three runs on 11 hits in their final two home games. They went 2-for-17 with runners in scoring position and left 14 runners on base in those losses.
Again, go back to the seventh inning Tuesday night, this time to see the Phillies unravel.
With Arizona leading by two in the bottom of the seventh, Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo summoned 26-year-old rookie Andrew Saalfrank, who had struggled in the series, walking five of the 10 batters he had faced.
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It was a curious call, and nearly backfired. After striking out Brandon Marsh to start the frame, Saalfrank walked pinch-hitter Cristian Pache and leadoff hitter Kyle Schwarber.
That set up the scenario screaming Philly fans were hoping for – the tying runs on base for $630 million worth of baseball studs, the duo of Trea Turner and Bryce Harper. The Phillies’ probability of winning the game, and the NLCS, jumped to 28.3 percent at that moment.
But Diamondbacks set-up man Kevin Ginkel entered and got Turner to fly out on four pitches and then did the same on the fourth pitch to Harper, a 96-mph fastball in the middle of the plate that Harper smoked 107.6 mph into center fielder Alek Thomas’ glove.
More than anyone, Harper yearns to come through, yearns to get to the World Series again and win. He’s 31, he’s had some injury issues, and, you never know, he may not get a chance to get this far again. To snag that elusive ring, and to cement that daily double of baseball dreams: to be one of the best of his generation and lead his team to a title.
Harper just missed making something magical happen in that crucial seventh.
The Phillies’ win probability immediately dropped to 13 percent as Thomas squeezed his glove. Ginkel and Arizona closer Paul Sewald did the rest, retiring the next six Phillies to send the Diamondbacks to the second World Series in franchise history and first since 2001.
And here we are now, discussing the anonymous Diamondbacks with their relatively anonymous manager – who is in his seventh full season with this club, believe it or not – as the October Classic opposition to the scalding hot Texas Rangers.
What the Diamondbacks and Lovullo have done this postseason may be even more impressive than the accomplishments of Bruce Bochy and the Rangers. Because the Diamondbacks don’t bash the ball at an excessive rate. Because they don’t have a deep rotation, once again having to lean on rookie Brandion Pfaadt, who had a 5.72 ERA in the regular season, as their third best starting option.
This simply is a team that does the little things, and absolutely believes it should be here.
In a sport that is viewed as boring by some, a boring, pedestrian club just dashed into the World Series while everyone was watching the big, hairy guys in the other dugout.
And they have a chance to do it again on baseball’s biggest stage starting Friday.
Dan Connolly is an MLB Insider for Sportsnaut. Follow him on Twitter.