PHOENIX – Everyone wondered how the Phillies would react.
They lost Games 3 and 4 of the National League Championship Series to Arizona in brutal fashion this week, but nothing hurt more than their late collapse in Game 4 Friday night at Chase Field. The loss evened the series and seemingly shifted the momentum in favor of the D-backs. Rob Thomson answered questions about his leaky bullpen, as Phillies hitters looked for ways to get out of their two games in the desert.
A few hours before the Phillies beat the D-backs, 6-1, During Game 5 on Saturday night, the players gathered in the clubhouse and talked.
“If we said in spring training, ‘Hey, we have to win two out of three to get to the World Series,’ we’d take that every time,” JT Realmuto said.
The Phillies also had Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola and Ranger Suárez lined up to pitch these next three games. Why wouldn’t they appreciate their chance? So why not like the situation they found themselves in Saturday night?
Others shared a similar message: be confident. Win or lose, be confident. Don’t force things to happen. Let them happen. As Realmuto reviewed the D-backs’ hitting with Wheeler before the game, Wheeler provided feedback and asked questions. Typically, he lets Realmuto run the show to the point where he wonders how much Wheeler listens. But Wheeler was engaged.
“Everybody couldn’t wait to get to the ballpark, I can tell you that,” Kyle Schwarber said. “Everyone was ready to go.”
And now the Phillies are one win away from their second straight NL pennant. Teams with a 3-2 lead in a best-of-seven series have won the series 79 of 112 times (71%). Game 6 will take place Monday night at Citizens Bank Park, while Game 7 (if necessary) will take place there on Tuesday.
Game 5 started unexpectedly, with Schwarber slicing a ball five feet in front of home plate and reaching for an infield single down the third-base line. He scored four batters later on a two-out single by Bryson Stott to give the Phillies a 1-0 lead.
Thomson insisted on the subject. He called a double steal with Bryce Harper at third base.
“We just wanted to put pressure on them,” he said.
It was courageous. If it worked, the Phillies would have a 2-0 lead against D-backs ace Zac Gallen. If they fail, Arizona could gain some momentum.
“It’s a risky game,” Realmuto said.
Stott took second on an 0-1 pitch to Realmuto, who gave Stott a hard time later because he took a fastball up the middle to give him the opportunity to run. D-backs receiver Gabriel Moreno moved to second. Harper sprints home.
“(Third base coach) Dusty (Wathan) told me to be aggressive,” Harper said.
Stott stopped about two-thirds of the way into second place. D-backs second baseman Ketel Marte fired home.
A good throw could have caught Harper. But Marte’s throw went to Moreno’s left. The catcher crossed the third base line in an attempt to catch the ball. Harper had nowhere to go. He dropped his left shoulder, knocked down Moreno and scored.
Harper is the first Phillies player to return home in postseason history.
That set the tone, especially with Wheeler on the mound. He was still fantastic, allowing one run on six hits and one walk in seven innings. Wheeler is 3-0 with a 2.08 ERA in four postseason starts. He has a 2.48 ERA in 10 career postseason starts.
“I told him after the game, ‘You’re one of the best pitchers I’ve ever played with, man,’” Harper said. “He’s legit, man.”
It turned out that two points would have been enough for Wheeler. But Schwarber smashed a 461-foot solo homer to right-center field in the sixth inning against Gallen to make it 3-0. Harper followed two batters later with a 444-foot solo shot to right center to make it 4-0.
Realmuto’s two-run homer in the eighth capped the score for the night at 6-1.
A large group of Philly fans were in Phoenix this week to watch their team play. They finally got a chance to relax and have some fun in Game 5, as Philadelphia responded to two tough losses with a complete victory.
The Phils struck. They launched. And they played great defense.
“When you believe in yourself and the collective cause that we have and the team that we have, it can be very difficult to beat us,” Schwarber said. “And we all believe in ourselves, we really do. We believe we can go out there and play really good baseball against the best.
“We came in smiling,” said Brandon Marsh. “I’m really confident we were going to win.”
They were confident because they had Wheeler on the mound. They were confident because, even if something went wrong on Saturday, they knew they would return home for Games 6 and 7 with Nola and Suárez on the mound.
“It was a normal Saturday,” Alec Bohm said. “No one was trying to be more focused. A lot of what we do is having fun, trusting each other and knowing we’re going to get the job done.
But they still reminded themselves of these core beliefs before the game. Sometimes it’s just good to hear it.
