To say things in Game 2 didn't go the way Diamondbacks fans would have liked is the understatement of the season.
Arizona was obliterated, 10-0. Merrill Kelly failed to back up his trash talk and was shelled into another dimension. Diamondbacks bat hardly rattled at the plate, let alone did anything productive.
Game 2 was total domination, but there's hope that things can still turn around before they're too late.
Ranger Suarez is on the mound for Philadelphia, which doesn't exactly make things easier for Arizona. The team played a truly awful game on Tuesday, though, and the law of averages suggests they might have gotten the worst out of its system.
That's the hope, anyway, as there seems to be no direction to go other than up. After a beatdown like the one the D-Backs endured in Game 2, a bounceback game on Thursday is nothing short of a neccessity.
Arizona Diamondbacks lineup for NLCS Game 3 (October 19, 2023)
Go back to the first game of the NLCS to get an idea of what this Diamondbacks team might be capable of.
Down 5-0 in hostile Philly, the D-Backs battled back to score three runs over the sixth and seventh innings. That was a sign of life many hoped would power the team to a win the next night and even the series before it headed back to the valley.
That very obviously didn't happen, but Arizona showed it could get to the Phillies. Whether that was an omen or luck is what will likely be determined in Game 3 on Thursday night.
Here's what the lineup tonight looks like:
Batting Order | Player | Position |
---|---|---|
1 | Ketel Marte | 2B |
2 | Corbin Carroll | CF |
3 | Gabriel Moreno | C |
4 | Christian Walker | 1B |
5 | Tommy Pham | RF |
6 | Lourdes Gurriel Jr | LF |
7 | Evan Longoria | DH |
8 | Emmanuel Rivera | 3B |
9 | Geraldo Perdomo | SS |
SP | Brandon Pfaadt | RHP |