The Philadelphia Phillies finally lost a game at home in this postseason, and the Arizona Diamondbacks forced a Game 7 in the NLCS with a 5-1 win Monday at Citizens Bank Park. Game 7 is Tuesday in Philly.
Arizona Diamondbacks at Philadelphia Phillies, NLCS Game 6: D-backs 5, Phillies 1 (Series tied 3-3)
Key moment:
Pham’s leadoff home run in the second inning. Actually, no — it was Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo’s decision to reinsert Pham into the starting lineup after taking him out for Game 5. That move made sense because Pham was 1-for-13 in the NLCS and had been battling through turf toe since September.
But ahead of Game 6, Lovullo made a prophetic comment about Pham’s return.
“I still feel like he’s very capable of taking one swing and getting on that run,” Lovullo told reporters early Monday. “[I wanted] him to step out of the lineup, catch his breath, watch through a different lens, maybe match him up in a great situation in Game 5, which never happened. … I’ve got a lot of information that says Tommy should have a good day today.”
Well, Pham crushed a 406-foot homer to left field Monday, and it started a three-run second inning for Arizona.
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. hit a home run in the very next at-bat. With that, Arizona joined the 2007 Boston Red Sox as the only teams to hit back-to-back homers three times in a postseason, according to MLB's Sarah Langs.
Evan Longoria then added an RBI double to bring home Alek Thomas, and the Diamondbacks had a 3-0 lead they never surrendered.
Impact player:
On Monday, Merrill Kelly accomplished something that few have been able to do this postseason: control the Phillies’ bats.
In the fifth, Kelly easily managed the top of the Phillies’ lineup: He struck out Kyle Schwarber, got Trea Turner to fly out and finished the inning by getting Bryce Harper swinging for his eighth strikeout of the outing. Through five, Kelly had allowed only three hits and one run, and he was smiling when he came back to the dugout.
But he was up to 90 pitches … and though Kelly wasn’t happy with the move, Lovullo decided it was time for the bullpen to see the Diamondbacks through the remainder of the game.
What’s next?
One more game for a spot in the World Series. NLCS Game 7 begins at 8:07 p.m. ET Tuesday at Citizens Bank Park. The Diamondbacks will send Brandon Pfaadt to the mound; the Phillies' starter has not yet been announced.