Game 2 of the NLCS was rather unexpected, with the Philadelphia Phillies routing the Arizona Diamondbacks by a score of 10-0. The Phillies’ offence continued their slugging from Game 1, with Philadelphia crushing another 3 homers to seal the win. On the flip side, the Diamondbacks’ have been off to a horrific start. Their top two starters were rocked by the Phillies’ potent offence, putting pressure on rookie Brandon Pfaadt for Game 3. Arizona gets 3 straight games at home for Games 3, 4, and 5 to try and rebound from a 2-0 deficit.
W: Aaron Nola (3-0) L: Merrill Kelly (1-1)
Aaron Nola, Phillies:
Aaron Nola continues to be “that guy” in the 2023 postseason, lowering his ERA this October to 0.96. Nola dazzled, with Diamondbacks’ hitters going 3-22 (.136) against the 30-year-old. Nola’s mix of knuckle-curves, fastballs, and changeups was stalling the Diamondbacks’ explosive postseason offence. 4 of Nola’s K’s came on the knuckle-curve and the other 3 came from the sinking/four-seam fastballs. Despite Nola’s 4.46 ERA in the regular season, he has turned it up a notch for the postseason. He will continue being at the top of the Phillies’ rotation with ace Zack Wheeler.
Merrill Kelly, Diamondbacks:
Merrill Kelly’s night didn’t go as planned, as the Phillies’ offence tagged him for 4 Earned Runs in Kelly’s 5.2 innings. However, Kelly’s command problems from early-on in the postseason stuck around in Game 2, with the Phillies’ walking 3 times when Kelly was on the hill and one of those runs coming around to score.
Kelly’s four-seam fastball and cutter declined in Run Value from last year, with the four-seamer going from 8 RV to -1 RV and the cutter going from 4 RV to 1 RV. Trea Turner’s homer came on a 92.4 MPH cutter, and Kyle Schwarber’s first dinger came on a 93 MPH four-seam fastball.
Both Merrill Kelly and Zac Gallen may have failed the assignment early on, but they’ll be heavily relied upon later on in the NLCS if the Diamondbacks end up facing elimination.
Offensive Breakdown, Phillies:
The Phillies’ offensive attack was extremely explosive, and after Tuesday night, they are averaging a whopping 5.75 Runs Per Game this October. Kyle Schwarber continued hammering homers on Tuesday night, hitting 2 bombs against Merrill Kelly. Schwarber now has 3 home runs in 2 NLCS games.
Shortstop Trea Turner hit a 421 FT dinger in the bottom of the first inning to get the Phillies off to a 1-0 lead early-on. Schwarber crushed his 2 dingers in the third and sixth frames to extend Philadelphia’s lead to 3-0. The Phillies’ added a few more runs with a 2-run double from J.T. Realmuto and an RBI double from Brandon Marsh to conclude the 6th frame. In the bottom of the 7th inning, the Phils piled on 4 more runs through a 2-run double from third baseman Alec Bohm, an RBI single from J.T. Realmuto, and a sacrifice fly from Nicholas Castellanos to cap off the inning.
The Phillies’ offence has impressed thus far against the best that Arizona has to offer, scoring a combined 9 runs off of both Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly.
Offensive Breakdown, Diamondbacks:
Another day, another underwhelming performance by the Diamondbacks’ offence in the NLCS.
After recording only 4 hits and 3 runs in Game 1, Arizona had 4 hits and a big goose-egg in the run column in Game 2. In fact, 2 of Arizona’s 4 hits came from second baseman Ketel Marte, to which these hits were wasted.
Like Game 1, Arizona’s lack of plate discipline directly correlated with the lack of offensive effectiveness, with the Diamondbacks lineup striking out 13 times, compared to only 6 punchouts from the Phillies’ lineup. Arizona is only averaging a little more than 1 Run Per Game through 2 NLCS games, which will have to change if they intend to keep pace with the Phillies’ formidable offence.
Top Performers, Phillies:
Kyle Schwarber (DH) – 2-3, 3 Runs, 2 HR, 2 RBI, BB
Trea Turner (SS) – 1-2, 2 Runs, HR, RBI, 2 BB
Alec Bohm (3B) – 1-4, Run, 2 RBI, SB
J.T. Realmuto (C) – 2-4, Run, 3 RBI
Aaron Nola (SP) – 6.0 IP, 3 Hits, 0 ER, 7 K’s
Top Performers, Diamondbacks:
Ketel Marte (2B) – 2-4, Double
Christian Walker (1B) – 1-4
Gabriel Moreno (C) – 1-4
Slade Cecconi (RP) – 1.0, Hit
Game 3 of the NLCS goes Thursday, October 19, with a game time of 5:07 PM EST. Rookie Brandon Pfaadt, who impressed in his last start against the Dodgers, will take the hill for Arizona, while the Phillies’ starter is still TBD (possibly Ranger Suarez) for Thursday night. Arizona gets the home-field advantage as they look to turn this NLCS around in Game 3.
(AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)