It was the Ketel Marte show on Thursday night for the Arizona Diamondbacks. The D-Backs 2nd baseman was 3-for-5 with two doubles and the game-winning, walk-off single as Arizona defeated the Philadelphia Phillies, 2-1, in NLCS Game 3. The Phillies still lead the best-of-seven NLCS, 2-1, but the momentum they had after two wins in Philadelphia dwindled a bit with Thursday’s woeful offensive performance.
Arizona’s rookie starter Brendan Pfaadt kept the Phillies off-balance for his portion of the night, scattering two hits and striking out a career high nine in 5.2 scoreless innings. From there the D-Backs’ bullpen took care of the rest. They allowed one hit and one-run, on a wild pitch, to stymie the high-powered Phillies offense in Game 3.
The Phillies had few opportunities on Thursday going 0-for-4 with RISP and three left on base. The credit goes to the Arizona pitchers who had the Phillies chasing all game long. Good at-bats were hard to come by for the Phillies.
On the pitching front, Ranger Suarez provided another fantastic outing. Suarez allowed three hits, one walk, and struck out seven Diamondbacks in 5.1 scoreless innings. The Phillies bullpen, which had been on lockdown throughout the postseason, cracked a bit on Thursday. Rookie Orion Kerkering allowed three-hits and the game tying run without recording an out in the 7th inning. All-Star closer Craig Kimbrel took the loss as he was wild and ineffective in the 9th.
Here’s how it went down in NLCS Game 3 including how they scored, players of the game, and more.
How They Scored
- PHI T7– Bryce Harper scores on a wild pitch | PHI-1, ARZ-0
- ARZ B7– Lourdes Gurriel Jr doubles to LF, Alek Thomas scores | PHI-1, ARZ-1
- ARZ B9– Ketel Marte singles to CF, Pavin Smith scores | ARZ-2, PHI-1
Play of the Game
WALK US OFF KETEL!!! pic.twitter.com/kEwDXVGXpO
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) October 19, 2023
Player of the Game
- ARZ 2B Ketel Marte: 3-for-5, GWH, 2 2B, RBI
NLCS Game 3 Box Score
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
| Phillies | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| Arizona | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 0 |
WP: P. Sewald (1-0) | LP: C. Kimbrel (0-1)
TOG: 3:08 | Attendance: 47,075 (apparently… a sellout)
PHI Leads Series 2-1
