Diamondbacks walk off Phillies, climb back into NLCS

PHOENIX — The Diamondbacks had to win Thursday. Somehow, they did.

After getting boat-raced into oblivion by an unforgiving Phillies lineup in Game 2, Arizona bounced back to steal Game 3 of the National League Championship Series. A bizarre, oddly-paced nail-biter in the desert, full of quality pitching, ended with a Ketel Marte walk-off single.

With one out and the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth, Arizona's leadoff hitter roped an elevated Craig Kimbrel heater into center, sending his teammates pouring out of the home dugout in celebration of a 2-1 win at Chase Field that cut the D-backs' series deficit to 2-1.

"That's exactly what we were looking for," Arizona first baseman Christian Walker told FOX Sports afterward. "Back in our house, back in our territory, get the ball rolling and get the momentum going."

No longer subjected to the northeastern chill and unfriendly environment of Citizens Bank Park, the Diamondbacks returned home to a stadium that repeatedly encouraged its fans to "embrace the chaos" on the jumbotron. The chaos came as promised.

What ensued was a twilight zone ballgame, a 2:08 local time start that felt more like a getaway game in June than a crucial NLCS matchup. To be clear, that energy had nothing to do with the home fans, who much to their credit, showed up and showed out on a Thursday afternoon.

They were rewarded with an invigorating walk-off October victory.

With all the big pieces off the chessboard, both clubs turned to their No. 3 starters for Game 3. For Philly, that meant October killer Ranger Suárez, as reliable a mid-rotation option as there is left in the playoffs. For Arizona, that meant a third start in quick succession for rookie Brandon Pfaadt.

On paper, Philly held a notable advantage, but they don't play these things on paper.

Pfaadt, in just his 21st start as a big leaguer, lived up to the moment. The 25-year-old carved through the potent Phillies like a machete through Jell-O. Pfaadt, who was considered one of the game's best pitching prospects entering 2023, struggled at times during his debut season because he threw too many hittable strikes. The control was always nice, but the command would waver.

On Thursday, Pfaadt had the GPS dialed. He located his heater to both edges of the zone with ease. Seven of the first nine batters saw a first-pitch strike. Getting ahead early and often enabled Pfaadt to keep his pitch count down and induce bad early-count contact from a Phillies offense that, just two days earlier, was firing on all cylinders. 

"That's a power lineup," Walker said. "To go at them with fastballs, especially at the top [of the zone], it's high risk, high reward."

The plan worked to perfection. 

Pfaadt struck out nine and allowed just two hits over 5.2 innings, drawing a well-earned standing ovation from the home crowd. His counterpart Suárez, to the surprise of nobody, was just as masterful. The veteran lefty dominated yet again, running his career playoff line to 28 2/3 innings, three earned runs. His 0.94 ERA is the lowest in a pitcher's first eight career postseason appearances since at least 1913 (minimum 20 IP), per MLB.com's Sarah Langs. 

But in Game 3 the Phillies hurler was matched at every turn by Pfaadt, as the two exited in the sixth with the game knotted at zero.

"Obviously I'm a competitor. I want to keep going," Pfaadt said afterward. "Everybody does, but at the end of the day you just have to trust his decision and move forward, go to the bullpen, let them do their jobs."

And with the bullpens, came the real chaos.

Philly would strike first in the top of the seventh when Arizona side-winding reliever Ryan Thompson yeeted a ball to the backstop with Bryce Harper on third base and two outs. Harper scampered home on the misfire, scoring the first run of the game. 

Though Thompson's directionless yank threatened to turn the momentum toward the visitors, Arizona punched right back in the bottom of the frame. A trio of no-out knocks from Tommy Pham, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Pavin Smith against rookie reliever Orion Kerkering evened the game at one and put runners on the corners. The tide had turned, swiftly, and for the first time all series, the Phillies looked to be taking on water.

But Philly called upon its flamethrowing fire-extinguisher José Alvarado, perhaps the single best reliever left in these playoffs. Alvarado induced a timely 6-4-3 double play that, thanks to a cheeky bit of footwork from Trea Turner, kept the potential go-ahead run frozen on third base. Geraldo Perdomo grounded out to end the inning and the Phillies grabbed the "mo" back once more.

Arizona is still playing baseball right now because its relatively anonymous bullpen shoved in their early-round upsets over Milwaukee and Los Angeles. That resurfaced Thursday. The trio of Thompson, Kevin Ginkel and closer Paul Sewald allowed just two base runners across the final three innings. Philly's formidable lineup hardly offered a threat late, setting up Marte's heroics in the bottom half of the ninth.

The home club was assisted by a scattershot Kimbrel, who recorded just one out in the ninth alongside two walks, two hits and the winning run. After Kimbrel walked Gurriel on a full count to start the frame, Gurriel promptly stole second. That 90 feet proved crucial, because the next hitter, Pavin Smith, nubbed a roller to the right of the second base bag for an infield hit. With a runner on first, Phillies second baseman Bryson Stott would have been shaded much closer to second and Smith's ground ball could have been an easy double play.

Instead, the Diamondbacks pressured the nine-time All-Star into a series of mistakes that culminated with Marte's game-ending knock.

Make no mistake, this Diamondbacks club is still up against it. The Phillies, even with a horrid offensive showing, maintain the upper hand. They will send Christopher Sanchez, who posted a 3.44 ERA this year in 99 innings, up against a carousel of Arizona relievers hoping to turn in the greatest bullpen day of their lives. 

But after a wild Thursday afternoon, Arizona has made this a series again.

Jake Mintz, the louder half of @CespedesBBQ is a baseball writer for FOX Sports. He played college baseball, poorly at first, then very well, very briefly. Jake lives in New York City where he coaches Little League and rides his bike, sometimes at the same time. Follow him on Twitter at @Jake_Mintz.