The Arizona Diamondbacks jumped all over Philadelphia Phillies SP Aaron Nola in the 2nd inning with back-to-back homers from Tommy Pham and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. followed by an RBI double by Evan Longoria to open the scoring in NLCS Game 6. That 2nd inning jump started the D-backs offense and they never looked back winning 5-1 over the Phillies to force a winner-takes-all Game 7.
Arizona starter Merrill Kelly kept the Phillies off-balance throwing five innings of one-run baseball. Kelly struck out eight and was shockingly removed by D-backs manager Torey Lovullo after getting Kyle Schwarber, Trea Turner, and Bryce Harper out to end the 5th. Luvullo’s move proved to work, the D-backs bullpen combination of Ryan Thompson, Andrew Saalfrank, Kevin Ginkle, and Paul Sewald kept the Phillies off the scoreboard. Ketel Marte added the additional offense for Arizona, driving in the D-backs two other runs with an RBI triple and single, respectively.
As for the Phillies, they were unable to take advantage of an early opportunity against Kelly in the 1st after walks to Schwarber and Harper. The Phillies went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position and left seven on base. The combo of Schwarber, Turner, and Harper went 0-for-9 with three walks.
Here’s how it went down in NLCS Game 6 including how they scored, players of the game, and more.
How They Scored
- ARZ T2– Tommy Pham homers to LF (406-ft) | ARZ-1, PHI-0
- ARZ T2- Lourdes Gurriel Jr. homers to LF (403-ft) | ARZ- 2, PHI-0
- ARZ T3– Evan Longoria doubles to LF, Alek Thomas scores | ARZ-3, PHI-0
- PHI B2- Brandon Marsh singles to RF, JT Realmuto scores | ARZ-3, PHI-1
- ARZ T5- Ketel Marte triples to RF, Corbin Carroll scores | ARZ-4, PHI-1
- ARZ T7- Marte singles to CF, Geraldo Perdomo scores | ARZ-5, PHI-1
Plays of the Game
The @Dbacks aren’t done, Pham. #NLCS pic.twitter.com/0YBx4PLX0U
— MLB (@MLB) October 23, 2023
Lourdes makes it back-to-back and a 2-0 @Dbacks lead! #NLCS pic.twitter.com/XL0oYZj0O0
— MLB (@MLB) October 23, 2023
Player of the Game
- ARZ 2B Ketel Marte: 2-for-4, 2 RBI, 3B
Ketel Marte drives in another run! #NLCS pic.twitter.com/qSSgOFCWuM
— MLB (@MLB) October 23, 2023
NLCS Game 6 Box Score
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
| Arizona | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 0 |
| Phillies | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
WP: M. Kelly (2-1, 2,65) | LP: A. Nola (3-1, 2.35)
TOG: 3:02 | Attendance: 45,473
Series Tied 3-3
