Fastball

Dynamic Diamondbacks Infielder in Rare Group in Baseball History Heading into Game 3 of NLCS

Heading into Game 3 of the NLCS, Arizona Diamondbacks infielder Ketel Marte is in a rare group in baseball history.

Brady Farkas

Dynamic Diamondbacks Infielder in Rare Group in Baseball History Heading into Game 3 of NLCS
Dynamic Diamondbacks Infielder in Rare Group in Baseball History Heading into Game 3 of NLCS /
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The Arizona Diamondbacks enter Game 3 of the NLCS on Thursday afternoon in a precarious position, down 2-0 to the Philadelphia Phillies.

While it's not "technically" a must-win game, it certainly feels like one, as going down 3-0 is practically a guaranteed loss.

If the Diamondbacks are going to spur themselves to victory, they'll need the dynamic parts of the order to turn in big performances. Corbin Carroll, Christian Walker and Ketel Marte all will need to come up big.

With regards to Marte, he's on a very short list in baseball history heading into Game 3.

Per Sarah Langs of MLB.com:

Ketel Marte has an 11-game hitting streak to start his postseason career so far only 5 players have started their postseason career with a longer hit streak: 

1995-96 Marquis Grissom: 15 

1976-80 Greg Luzinski: 13 

2010 Elvis Andrus: 12 

2010 Nelson Cruz: 12 

2002 Darin Erstad: 12

Marte is hitting .362 for his playoff career, having also made the playoffs in 2017 with the D'Backs.

The 30-year-old had another very productive season in Arizona, hitting .276 with 25 homers and 82 RBI. He stole eight bases and posted an .844 OPS.

Marte has spent part of nine seasons in the big leagues with the Mariners and Diamondbacks. Acquired from Arizona before the 2017 season, he's a lifetime .279 hitter with 107 home runs. He made the All-Star Game in 2019.

Game 3 of the NLCS is being played at 5:07 p.m. ET. Ranger Suarez (PHI) pitches against Brandon Pfaadt (ARI).

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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