Diamondbacks Prevail 9-8 in Thriller Against the Phillies
A visibly contrite and chastened Torey Lovullo sat down in front of the media, and the first words out of his mouth were to express respect and admiration for J.T. Realmuto. Perhaps it was damage control, or perhaps it was heartfelt. Either way it was a necessary ending to a thrilling Diamondbacks come from behind victory over the Phillies tonight.
Corbin Carroll was hit by Matt Strahm in each of his first two at-bats of the game. The first one got Carroll on the forearm, and helped lead to a run as it advanced Ketel Marte to second. Marte later scored on a sacrifice fly by Evan Longoria, staking Tommy Henry to a 1-0 lead.
That lead did not hold as Realmuto hit a long home run in the second inning to tie the game. Then in the top of the third the Phillies jumped on Henry for four more runs, the big hit being a two-run triple from Realmuto that hit off the center field wall. Realmuto later singled in the fifth and doubled in the ninth, completing the cycle. His achievement would be overshadowed, however, by events that began in the bottom of the third.
Emmanuel Rivera led off with a single and Strahm then hit Carroll for the second time, coming up and in with a fastball once again to clip him on the arm. At that point, Lovullo had enough and charged out of the dugout. Home plate umpire Vic Carapazza immediately told him he'd be ejected, and Lovullo admitted he had no right to be there, but he felt he needed to protect his player. Realmuto then engaged with Lovullo and the two started exchanging words, after which chaos broke out.
Lovullo refused to say what was said between him and Realmuto, but acknowledged that he felt that Strahm was not "pitching the right way" He also said he expects to be suspended after the game. Carroll said that he did not think Strahm hit him on purpose. "He was pitching inside, a couple balls just got away from him, it happens". The first hit by pitch got him a little harder and he needed treatment after the game. The second one just stung for a minute but gave him no trouble.
"I just appreciate Torey sticking up for me. I think he's just trying to keep his players in the game. I wasn't going to take exception, because I didn't feel like there was any intent, but he's trying to protect his players and he's shown that multiple times. "
The D-backs responded in all the right ways from that point onward. Down 5-1 they chipped away at the lead Pavin Smith delivered a two-out, two RBI base hit to score Carroll and Rivera. Then in the fourth Marte doubled with two outs, and Rivera singled him home. Carroll then tripled in Rivera to tie the ball game. He said "it was a good feeling to retaliate the right way through my play"
Evan Longoria hit a big three-run homer in a four-run sixth inning to put the D-backs up 9-5. It was his 9th homer of the year in just 116 plate appearances and he's driven in 19 runs. The inning was set up by an infield hit by Jake McCarthy. He went to third on a Marte's third hit of the game and scored on a sacrifice fly from Rivera. Carroll then followed with an infield hit, setting up Longoria's homer.
Longoria stayed late after the game to talk about the offense. "Our offense is so good at creating opportunities for the next guy. We do such a good job of passing the baton to the next guy, working a walk, Corbin, Jake tonight, getting the infield hits, forcing the issue with the pitcher, it puts so much pressure on the other team, you inevitably see guys making mistakes because they're worried about whats going on on the bases".
The D-backs needed those runs too, as the Phillies scored two in the seventh off Drey Jameson and one more in a nerve wracking ninth inning. Miguel Castro was having difficulty locking down the game, giving up a leadoff double to Realmuto and a two out RBI base hit to Bryson Stott. Kody Clemens came up to pinch hit and just missed a homer foul down the right field line that required a review to confirm the call. Castro finally struck out Clemens to get his 7th save of the year. A nice footnote is his parents were in attendance, their first ever trip to the United States.
The D-backs have won six in a row and are now 41-25. The Phillies fall to 32-34. Game two of the series is tomorrow night at 6:40 P.M. Arizona time, Zack Wheeler pitches for the Phillies, and Zach Davies starts for Arizona.
