Arizona Diamondbacks Advance to NLCS

The Arizona Diamondbacks are the newest comeback kid on the block with their 4-2 win against the LA Dodgers Wednesday night. The No. 6 seed that barely squeezed in the playoff bracket with an 84-78 record only needed three games to sweep their 100-win opponent. This sweep adds to the one Arizona had against the Milwaukee Brewers for the NL Wild Card.

“This is what we worked all year for,” Arizona rookie Corbin Carroll said after the big win. “It’s amazing to be here. It doesn’t feel real.”

All it took was a four-homer inning to get Arizona to their first NLCS berth since 2007. Arizona is proving to be the dark horse team to watch in the MLB this season. The Diamondbacks make this claim hard to refute with a 5-0 record in the postseason.

Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo mirrored Carroll’s sentiment, exclaiming: “It’s almost unbelievable, right? I’m a fan too, and I was looking at it thinking, what in the world is happening here?”

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts gave a rather dejected response after the loss.

“You look at the game, the series, they outplayed us, and there’s no other spin to it,” Roberts said, “They outplayed us in every facet of the game.”.

Greater Implications

This loss is especially heartbreaking for a Dodger team who might lose some of their key pieces after this season, with Clayton Kershaw at the front of this list.

Kershaw is a free agent this season by choice, opting to sign one-year deals for the rest of his career. This decision by Kershaw puts the future of this LA team in jeopardy if they are to break 100 wins again.

The Arizona Diamondbacks will play either the Philadelphia Phillies or the Atlanta Braves for the NLCS title. Phillies lead the best-of-five series 2-1 as it sits currently. The Braves have been amazing this season, but the Diamondbacks look white-hot.

THE CHAOS CONTINUES.

WE'RE HEADED TO THE NLCS!!! pic.twitter.com/LkMow11hBL

— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) October 12, 2023