Diamondbacks face early hole in Game 2 of NLCS after more Phillies HRs

The Arizona Diamondbacks’ start to Game 2 of the National League Championship Series against the Philadelphia Phillies did not lend much confidence to an Arizona turnaround but did have the score in a more manageable position.

Two solo home runs for the Phillies gave them a 2-0 lead through three innings before the game got out of hand, a 10-0 D-backs loss.

Similar themes were present for the D-backs starting pitcher against the Phillies offense with pitch location and hard-hit balls.

Philadelphia shortstop Trea Turner in a 0-1 count got a 92 miles per hour four-seam fastball over the heart of the plate and obliterated it 421 feet for a solo home run and 1-0 Phillies lead.

Lift your Trea tables.

We're in for a bumpy ride. #Postseason pic.twitter.com/jQ4yHAYg06

— MLB (@MLB) October 18, 2023

It left the bat at 110 mph, following a Kyle Schwarber groundout at 98 mph and then Alec Bohm’s deep lineout to center that went 396 feet checked in at 103 mph.

Kelly settled down with a calm 1-2-3 second inning before Schwarber’s line drive dinger in the third was mashed 104 mph to double the advantage.

Once again, it was a fastball right where the Phillies want it.

Kyle the Schwarbarian. #NLCS pic.twitter.com/TlJhi8MeYe

— MLB (@MLB) October 18, 2023

Harper nearly made it a third dinger off Kelly to end the third inning but his 104 mph deep flyout was caught just before the wall in left field.

All three of the home runs allowed by Arizona starter Zac Gallen in Game 1 were fastballs at a similar velocity in a similar spot. Through three innings, Philadelphia had mashed six balls over 100 mph off Gallen.

Turner has been a man possessed in October, racking up a hit in every postseason game and producing multi-hit performances in five of the seven playoff fixtures. It was his third homer of the postseason and after walking in his second at-bat, his OPS bumped up to 1.563.

D-backs bats struggled massively three innings in off Phillies starter Aaron Nola, failing to hit a ball out of the infield that wasn’t a pop up. A sharp grounder down the third base line from Gabriel Moreno was Arizona’s best prospect at a hit but a diving stop by Philly’s Alec Bohm cleaned that up.

Arizona looked particularly fooled by Nola’s pitch selection, as Tommy Pham and Evan Longoria both struck out looking on balls healthily in the zone.

Corbin Carroll reached on a fielding error to lead off the game to serve as Arizona’s lone baserunner through three innings. Including Game 1, the D-backs are now 1-for-18 on their first run through the order.

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