ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS

Diamondbacks’ Lourdes Gurriel Jr. leaps for terrific catch vs. Phillies

Oct 20, 2023, 5:42 PM | Updated: 5:49 pm

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. #12 of the Arizona Diamondbacks celebrates his catch with Corbin Carroll #7 on ...

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. #12 of the Arizona Diamondbacks celebrates his catch with Corbin Carroll #7 on a fly ball hit by J.T. Realmuto #10 of the Philadelphia Phillies (not pictured) in the second inning during Game Four of the National League Championship Series at Chase Field on October 20, 2023 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

(Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

The Arizona Diamondbacks were going to need their elite defense in Friday’s Game 4 of the National League Championship Series against the Philadelphia Phillies and early heroics from Lourdes Gurriel Jr. provided just that.

In the top of the second inning for a D-backs team using a bullpen game, right-hander Luis Frias was in after replacing left-hander Joe Mantiply. Frias was through his first two hitters before Phillies catcher J.T Realmuto hit a ball on a line to deep left field.

Gurriel needed every step to be perfect to properly track the ball and make a play on it. It was all there from him, and he leaped to prevent what was certainly extra-base hits, potentially even a home run.

Gurriel has been huge for Arizona at Chase Field in this series. He had a single, double and walk in the Game 3 win. His RBI double in the seventh tied the game before Ketel Marte’s walk-off act in the ninth.

The catch kept the game scoreless through one-and-a-half innings until Emmanuel Rivera’s RBI single in the bottom-half of the second gave the D-backs a 1-0 lead.

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