Can Phillies Recover From Two Crushing Losses in NLCS?
It was almost unthinkable that the Philadelphia Phillies would be tied in the National League Championship Series.
They completely dominated the first two games, with their offense looking unstoppable.
But after a Game 3 loss on a walk-off single, the Phillies looked poised to win Game 4 after taking a late lead.
Then, the bullpen blew the game in devastating fashion to give the Arizona Diamondbacks momentum at home and tie up the series 2-2.
Philadelphia will say they're flushing those two results and are moving on to the next one, but will they be able to?
Having Zack Wheeler on the mound certainly helps.
He's been incredible in the postseason, shutting down opposing lineups and going deep into games.
The offense came alive in Game 4 compared to the third game which was a positive sign, but they weren't able to do enough to secure the victory.
The Diamondbacks are going with their ace Zac Gallen in Game 5, who has performed much better at home than on the road when he was shelled.
But how will the Phillies respond after staring down a commanding lead in the NLCS to secure their second straight World Series berth?
"I think I just look at it as now it’s a best-of-three series and we have home-field advantage, and we have Wheeler and [Aaron] Nola lined up," star slugger Nick Castellanos said about looking at the challenge at hand.
He's right.
Philadelphia has the pitching advantage going forward.
Momentum is a funny thing in baseball. Once it's obtained, it's hard to get rid of it.
That's what Arizona has right now after it looked liked the Phillies would maintain it throughout this series.
Game 5 is a must win.
Philadelphia will treat it as such.
