D-backs on Brink of Elimination With Game 5 Loss to Phillies

The Diamondbacks were shut down by Zack Wheeler and succumbed to the offensive pressure the Phillies put on them.

The Diamondbacks find themselves on the brink of elimination, as they dropped a pivotal Game 5, 6-1, to the Philadelphia Phillies. They'll have to find a way to win back-to-back games at Citizens Bank Park, which in itself is a very difficult ask, to keep their season alive.

With a Game 1 rematch between Zac Gallen and Zack Wheeler, Game 5 followed an all too familiar script. The Phillies jumped Gallen for two runs in the first inning to establish an early lead they ultimately would not relinquish. Schwarber singled on a cue shot off the end of his bat and then singles by Bryce Harper and Bryson Stott gave Philadelphia a 1-0 lead. With runners on the corners and two outs, the Phillies called for a double steal. The D-backs were unable to execute the throw home and Harper scored.

"We put the sign on, but they executed it perfectly" said Phillies manager Rob Thomson. "Stotter pulled up at the right time, and Harp got a really good break. We just wanted to put pressure on them. There was two out there at the time, and they have to make two good throws. And I think that the catcher's throw was a little bit low, so it causes a little bit of a rush for the second baseman, so it worked out."

After a leadoff walk in the 2nd, Gallen settled in and retired the next 11 hitters to cruise through the 5th. In the 6th, the Philadelphia lineup turned over for the third time, and the wheels came off for the D-backs ace. Falling behind 2-0 to Schwarber, Gallen rolled a center-cut curveball to home plate that was crushed 461 feet by the Phillies slugger. Harper added his own home run two batters later that made it 4-0. A walk to Alec Bohm and a Stott single put two runners on for J.T. Realmuto, who grounded into an inning-ending double play on Gallen's final pitch of the night. In two starts against the Phillies, he allowed nine runs in 11 innings.

"I think Zac had good stuff that first inning" said D-backs manager Torey Lovullo. "With that infield base hit, it wasn't what we were at all expecting. Then once he got down a couple of runs -- I thought he got into a nice rhythm in innings two through six. He did give us a chance to get grounded and get into that neutral corner and come back out and score some runs."

The D-backs had a great opportunity to answer back in the first. Corbin Carroll walked to lead off the game and advanced to second on a groundout. Gabriel Moreno hit a hard ground ball one step to Carroll's right, causing him to retreat back to second on a play that got past a diving Trea Turner. Instead of scoring on the play, the D-backs leadoff man could only advance to third. 

"Usually you're trained when the ball is hit to your left, you can advance freely. The ball was hit to his right, and he was retreating back to the bag. But there's two parts to that. We'll get a chance to talk to Corbin about it. You have to know where your infielders are placed. If the infielder is going to have to move as far left as Turner was going to, you just have to know where that placement is."

A strikeout and a groundout allowed Wheeler to escape the inning unscathed and settle into a rhythm. The Phillies ace held Arizona to just one run over seven strong innings, striking out eight. His lone blemish came on an Alek Thomas solo home run in the 7th, Thomas' second  homer in as many games.

The D-backs will have their backs against the wall as the series returns to Philadelphia for Game 6. The pitching matchup will be a rematch of Game 2, with Merrill Kelly and Aaron Nola both getting the start.  If they want to live to play another day the D-backs will have to do a better job against Nola than last time. He blanked the Diamondbacks for six innings in Game 2, 

"We have to go out and play our best game in Game 6. We have a very tough pitcher that we're going to be facing, but once again, I'm going to put it on our group. I believe in Merrill Kelly, I believe in the guys to go out there and execute and play at a higher level and make plays and do things right."

Game 6 at Citizens Bank Park will be Monday, with the time of the first pitch depending on who wins Game 6 of the ALCS between the Rangers and Astros tomorrow. If Houston finishes the series at home, first pitch will be at 8:07 PM ET/5:07 PM MST. If not, then it'll be three hours earlier at 5:07 PM ET/2:07 PM MST.