The Arizona Diamondbacks have successfully swept the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series. The Diamondbacks have reached the NLCS for the first time since 2007, where Brandon Webb led Arizona to an improbable division title. They defeated the Dodgers 4-2 on Wednesday night, and now await either the Philadelphia Phillies to oppose Arizona in the NLCS. Game 4 of the Phillies vs. Braves series wrapped up last night, where Philly took down the Braves for a 2nd straight season.
W: Joe Mantiply (1-0) L: Lance Lynn (0-1) SV: Paul Sewald (4)
Brandon Pfaadt, Diamondbacks:
Rookie starter Brandon Pfaadt made his second career postseason start Wednesday night against the Dodgers and hurled 4.2 innings of shutout baseball. While Pfaadt only struck out two batters, he was able to limit the Dodgers’ potent offence to only two hits. Pfaadt bounced back from his iffy start in the Wild Card series against Milwaukee, where he gave up 3 ER in only 2.2 innings. This performance by Pfaadt allowed Arizona to set the tone early and allowed for the Diamondbacks to take the victory, 4-2.
Lance Lynn, Dodgers:
Yeesh.
Lance Lynn had an extremely rough regular season, and this poor start was the icing on the cake. Lynn was widely considered as one of the top pitchers in Major League Baseball just two years ago. However, his ERA in 2023’s regular season was 5.73, which ranked second-worst in MLB. Lynn’s outing Wednesday night in Arizona was definitely not his best, with Lynn giving up 4 Earned Runs in only 2.2 innings. Lance Lynn’s struggles allowed him to take the loss in Game 3.
Diamondbacks’ Offensive Breakdown:
Arizona’s offence wasn’t exactly anything special Wednesday night, but their four dingers were enough to seal the series. Arizona’s 4 runs came all in the bottom of the third inning, with shortstop Geraldo Perdomo, second-baseman Ketel Marte, first-baseman Christian Walker, and former-Blue Jay catcher Gabriel Moreno all hitting home runs off of Lance Lynn. What’s even more impressive is that Arizona’s lineup had more hits than strikeouts. Their plate discipline forced Lance Lynn to throw nearly 50 pitches through 2.2 innings. Despite scoring only four runs, the Diamondbacks’ patience at the plate forced Lynn into the strike zone, and Arizona’s lineup capitalized from there.
Dodgers’ Offensive Breakdown:
The Los Angeles Dodgers’ offence continued their struggles in Game 3 of the NLDS. Brandon Pfaadt was stellar, as he started the game retiring the first six batters he faced, and the single he gave up to end this streak was a bloop hit to Dodgers Utility Player Kike Hernandez. The Dodgers seemed off-balance all game. Los Angeles was able to muster up 2 runs off of Ryan Thompson in the seventh through a few singles by Kike Hernandez and Chris Taylor, but other than that, the Diamondbacks cruised to another win against the Dodgers. The Dodgers continue to have issues in the postseason since their World Series championship in 2020, and this result was nothing new for Dodgers fans.
Diamondbacks’ Top Performers:
Ketel Marte (2B) – 2-4, Run, HR, RBI
Christian Walker (1B) – 1-3, Run, HR, RBI, BB
Gabriel Moreno (C) – 1-2, Run, HR, RBI
Geraldo Perdomo (SS) – 1-3, Run, HR, RBI
Brandon Pfaadt (SP) – 4.2 IP, 2 Hits, 0 ER, 2 K’s
Dodgers’ Top Performers:
Will Smith (C) – 3-4, Run
Chris Taylor (CF/LF) – 1-3, RBI
Kike Hernandez – 2-4, RBI
Game 1 of the NLCS between the Arizona Diamondbacks and either of the Atlanta Braves or Philadelphia Phillies will begin at 8:07 PM EST on Monday, October 16. The Diamondbacks are looking to take another step to winning their first World Series championship since 2001.
(Photo via Joe Rondone/The Republic)