The Dbacks swept the Phillies and damage their playoff chances
The Diamondbacks dealt a critical blow to the Phillies playoff chances this week after sweeping them in the 3-game series. The Dbacks were the underdog coming into the series. However, with the way they performed, the Phillies were the clear underdogs.
The team had their bats performing, starters doing well, and the bullpen sealed the win in each game. It’s a far cry from the team that was playing back in May. The Dbacks caused the Phillies to go from 1.5 games back to 4 games back of the surging Braves. They welcomed Archie Bradley back by beating his team.
The offense was led by a trio of hitters over the series. Everyone pitched in but these three did the most: Christian Walker, Josh Rojas, and Josh VanMeter. Christian went 4/9 with 2 walks, 3 runs, and 2 RBI’s. Meanwhile, Rojas went 5/11 with 1 RBI and 1 run. VanMeter rocked the yard going 3/8 with a HR and 4 RBI’s.
The pitching was the real highlight for the Dbacks.The starters gave 18.1 innings of 8 hits, 3 ERs, 6 walks, 11 K’s, and going 2-0. Our bullpen shined as well pitching 8.2 innings of 6 hits, 3 ER’s, 5 walks, 7 K’s, and 2 saves. They were 1-0 as well. Tyler Clippard got the two saves.
MadBum shined on both sides of the game going 1/3 with an RBI and Run. On the mound, he dominated the Phillies by going 8 innings and allowing only 3 hits, 1 ER, 1 Walk, and 5 K’s. He lowered his ERA to 4.06, his lowest ever as a Dbacks player. Humberto Castellanos also shined pitching 5 innings of 1 run ball while going 2 for 2 with an RBI at the dish.
Good signs for the future
Earlier this week, I wrote about how Walker needed to start turning it up at the plate after a miserable season so far. It’s encouraging to have seen him do well at the plate this series. He isn’t bashing the ball yet but still getting timely hits and on base.
It’s also rather pleasant to see our bullpen doing well. They have been put through the ringer this season. However, it’s still good to see them do well for one series. Now they can start stacking those good appearances and build.
The Dbacks take on the Rockies tonight to open up a 3-game series this weekend. I have more information on that series right here.