Things didn't go as planned in Game 1 of the NLCS, but the Arizona Diamondbacks are far from being cooked.
Philadelphia jumped all over Zac Gallen right off the bat -- quite literally. Kyle Schwarber hit a bomb on the first pitch of the game which was followed by a Bryce Harper home run that brought the crowd to life in ways Arizona was hoping to not deal with
It's Philly, though, so a rambunctious crowd is to be expected.
Gallen getting shelled for five runs was less than ideal, but the takeaway was how the D-Backs fought back despite falling into that early hole. They were able to fully climb out, but the three-run spree over the sixth and seventh innings is a confidence builder that the team will try to carry into Game 2.
Philly is a superior opponent, but they're not unbeatable. Arizona tagged them for three runs, there could be more where that came from on Wednesday night.
Arizona Diamondbacks lineup for NLCS Game 2 (October 17, 2023)
Here's the lineup that Torey Lovullo is rolling with in hopes of evening the series in Game 2 tonight:
Batting Order | Player | Position |
|---|---|---|
1 | Corbin Carroll | RF |
2 | Ketel Marte | 2B |
3 | Tommy Pham | DH |
4 | Christian Walker | 1B |
5 | Gabriel Moreno | C |
6 | Lourdes Gurriel Jr | LF |
7 | Alek Thomas | CF |
8 | Evan Longoria | 3B |
9 | Geraldo Perdomo | SS |
SP | Merrill Kelly | RHP |
Things don't look different at all from what they were in Game 1, as Arizona is riding the exact same lineup. It's a solid move considering how nicely everyone settled in after the first few times through the order, and that momentum that was built is clearly being leveraged.
It's also not terribly surprising to see the D-Backs roll out the same lineup, as they've been doing it for almost the entire postseason. Up until Game 1 that had resulted in five straight wins, but even with the loss the Diamondbacks are scoring over five runs per game.
That's a trend that Lovullo is hoping to keep going, but the lineup will have its work cut out with Aaron Nola on the mound on Wednesday night.