Phillies Play D-Backs With World Series Trip On The Line

Game 6 of the National League Championship Series is set for 5:07 p.m. The Philadelphia Phillies will host the Arizona Diamondbacks with a 3-2 series lead. A win at home will send the Phillies to the World Series for a second straight year.

Job done in the Desert

The series is coming off of Game 5 in Arizona. The Phillies were able to bounce back from two straight losses in the desert. The offense, which had been opportunistic all year, was able to capitalize on two D-Backs errors. They started scoring in the first inning with two runs from a stolen base attempt and a throwing error from D-Backs second baseman Ketel Marte.

FIGHTINS TAKE GAME 5.#RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/nid9zbOte5

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) October 22, 2023

Red October Return

The Phillies haven’t lost a single game at home so far this postseason. They outscored the D-Backs 15-3 so far this series and have outscored their opponents 39-8 so far this postseason.

What a night. pic.twitter.com/LVpLrti0K2

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) October 18, 2023

Game Preview

The pitching matchup for tonight’s game is Merrill Kelly for the Diamondbacks and Aaron Nola for the Phillies. Kelly gave up three homers to Phillies hitters earlier in Game 2 of the series. Nola has a 3-0 record with a 0.96 era, two walks, and 19 strikeouts this postseason. Nola also boasts a 2-0 record in potential series clinching games.

Kyle Schwarber has been a key piece in the series. He’s hit five homeruns in five games in the NLCS. Bryce Harper leads the Phillies with a 1.288 OPS and leads all remaining players with a .511 on base percentage. The Diamondbacks haven’t made it easy on the Phillies though. Ketel Marte has a 14-game hitting streak this postseason and leads the team in average and on base percentage. Alek Thomas has hit homeruns on back-to-back games this postseason.

https://twitter.com/MLB/status/1715926548585349569

Teams that are up 3-2 in any best-of-7 series have gone on to win the series 71% of the time.