Phillies Take Full Control of The Series in 10-0 Rout of the Diamondbacks
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - OCTOBER 17: Kyle Schwarber #12 of the Philadelphia Phillies hits a sixth inning solo home run in front of Gabriel Moreno #14 of the Arizona Diamondbacks during Game Two of the Championship Series at Citizens Bank Park on October 17, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Even though the Phillies led from their first at-bat until the end of game 1, it was more stressful than it needed to be. That was not the case for game 2 though. By the time the bullpen game in for Aaron Nola the Phillies were up 6-0. By the 8th inning they were up 10. And you would have to be pretty panicky to sweat out a 10-run lead. The Phillies made it look easy in game 2, to improve to 2-0 in the NLCS.
Kyle Schwarber hit two more solo shots to bring his series and playoff total up to 3. And Trea Turner hit his 4th of the playoffs in the first inning. They also got RBIs from Alec Bohm, JT Realmuto, Nick Castellanos, and Brandon Marsh. And of course, you can’t leave out Aaron Nola, who threw 6 shutout innings with only 3 hits and 7 strikeouts.
These first two games were supposed to be the games the Diamondbacks needed to steal. Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly were on the mound. The common thought coming into the series was that they would need to win 3 of the 4 games those two pitched to win the series. But their two aces gave up a combined 9 runs, including 6 solo shots, and lost both games. Now the Diamondbacks options for games 3 and 4 are a mix of guys with ERAs over 5. Brandon Pfaadt (5.72) will pitch game 3, and the game 4 starter is TBD.
The Phillies now are in full control of the series. They need just two more wins across 5 games. Two of which will be played back in Philly if needed. 3 of which will be against Starting pitchers with ERAs over 5.0. Two of which will feature either Zack Wheeler or Aaron Nola, who are pitching better than any starters left in the playoffs. Oh, and this bullpen has still given up just 3 runs over 8 games. Chances are very good Red October will continue into the World Series.
The Phillies 26-Man Roster For the NLCS Vs The Diamondbacks
The Phillies are back in the NLCS. For the second straight year, they knocked the 100+ win Braves out of the playoffs in the NLDS. Everyone called them the greatest lineup in Baseball history. Didn’t seem so potent against the Phillies. They were held to just 7 runs across 4 games. With guys like Ronald Acuna and Matt Olson being quiet the entire series. And now, we can look forward to the NLCS and the Diamondbacks.
The Phillies get the next 3 days off. Which they may need after how much they partied after the win in game 4. And then on Monday, it begins. They need 4 more wins to get to the World Series, and 8 more to parade down Broad Street.
And there is good reason to be very confident in this team. As good as last year’s team was, this roster is even better. To start, they have Trea Turner who is putting up crazy numbers. Bryce Harper is still the best playoff hitter ever. And now you have Nick Castellanos playing out of his mind after he struggled in the playoffs last year. And maybe more important, is how great the pitching looks.
The Braves may be choke artists, but that was still a very good lineup. They were shut down by the Phillies pitchers though. Wheeler, Nola, and Suarez all pitched gems. And apart from game 2, the Bullpen shut the door on the Braves once the starters came out. The bullpen goes deep, far deeper than it did last year. The lineup is just as deep. This team is very good.
So before the NLCS, let’s get a reminder of just how good this 26-man roster is. And while we are at it, let’s see how all of them have played against the Diamondbacks so far this season.
Here is what their 26-man roster in the NLCS vs the Diamondbacks will look like:
Tyrone Johnson is the host of “The Best Show Ever” on 97.5 The Fanatic. He has been with the station for the past 8 years. Before working at the Fanatic, Tyrone produced political radio, did financial reports, and was assistant chief engineer of another radio station. As a content creator for 97.5 The Fanatic, Tyrone writes articles on the Sixers, Eagles, Phillies, and Flyers.