The Philadelphia Phillies had the chance to close out the National League Championship Series, win the pennant, and clinch a spot in the World Series for the second consecutive season. They had a good shot in doing so, considering they were heading back to Citizens Bank Park, where they were undefeated throughout the postseason.
But, the Arizona Diamondbacks were not going quietly into the night.
On Monday, the Diamondbacks defeated the Phillies 5-1 to force a Game 7 on Tuesday night. It's hard to place blame on players performances, considering this Phillies team is on the verge of clinching. a spot in the Fall Classic. But when it comes to who was at fault for the Game 6 loss, these three come to mind.
Aaron Nola gave the Diamondbacks life in Game 6
This was a bit of a surprise, considering Aaron Nola has been one of the most consistent pitchers in the majors since his arrival. But with the chance to close out the series, Nola couldn't keep the Diamondbacks' spirits down.
Nola started strong, recording three strikeouts in four batters faced. But once the second inning began, Nola gave the momentum to Arizona.
Nola faced off against designated Tommy Pham to start the second and surrendered a solo home run to left field on his fifth pitch thrown, putting the Phillies in a 1-0 deficit. The next at-bat, Nola gave up another solo home run, this time to outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr., increasing Arizona's lead to 2-0. After walking outfielder Alek Thomas, Nola allowed a double to veteran third baseman Evan Longoria, putting the Diamondbacks up 3-0.
While Nola would get out of the jam and pitch scoreless third and fourth innings, the fifth was a different story. After getting shortstop Geraldo Perdomo to lineout, Nola gave up a single to outfielder Corbin Carroll. Nola would remain in the game, and gave up an RBI triple to second baseman Ketel Marte two pitches later, putting Philadelphia down by the score of 4-1.
Nola was removed from the game after the Marte triple, ending his night by recording four strikeouts, issuing two walks, and surrendering six hits in 4.1 innings.
It was an uncharacteristic game for Nola, and it cost the Phillies a chance to clinch a spot in the World Series.
Rob Thomson should have pulled Aaron Nola from start earlier than he did
The decision to keep Aaron Nola in the game until the fifth inning falls on manager Rob Thomson.
In the regular season, managers will put their faith in their ace to get out of the jam they are currently facing and to figure things out. But as we have seen throughout this postseason, managers will have a short leash on their pitchers. As in, they won't hesitate to go to the bullpen early.
Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo caught a lot of flak from fans for pulling starter Brandon Pfaadt despite allowing two hits in 5.2 innings in Game 3. Yet, the move ultimately paid off for Lovullo, as the Diamondbacks went on to win that game. This was a gutsy call by Lovullo, who was looking to avoid having an 0-3 deficit in the series.
Nola was obviously off, and signs were showing in the second inning. But Thomson could have pulled Nola after the single to Carroll. Yet, that wasn't the case, and it paved the way for Marte to knock in another run via a triple.
Phillies fans were obviously unhappy about Thomson's decision to keep Nola in Game 6 for as long as he did.
Trea Turner had the chance to cut the deficit in the second inning
The Arizona Diamondbacks got off to a 2-0 lead in the top of the second inning after back-to-back home runs surrendered by Aaron Nola to Tommy Pham and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. But, in the bottom of the second inning, the Phillies had a chance to cut the deficit to one.
Phillies outfielder Brandon Marsh cut the deficit to 2-1 on an RBI single that allowed catcher J.T. Realmuto, who opened the inning with a double, to score. Outfielder Johan Rojas allowed Marsh to advance to third on a groundout. Next up to the plate was shortstop Trea Turner, who had the chance to cut Arizona's lead to 3-2, at minimum.
Facing Diamondbacks starting pitcher Merrill Kelly, Turner struck out swinging on three pitches to end the inning.
While Turner had been solid throughout the postseason, he didn't have a good night on Monday. In four at-bats, Turner didn't record a single hit.
Turner had the chance to tie the game up and potentially bring the momentum back to the Phillies. Instead, the Diamondbacks capitalized on it and pulled away to force a Game 7, something Philadelphia has never done in their history.
