*Photo from Arizona Sports*
Philadelphia leads series 3-2
After a few punches, they got back up and swung back. JT Realmuto drove in two runs, Kyle Schwarber homered, and the Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks with a 6-1 victory on Saturday night in Phoenix.
Having lost two straight games and the series lead in the process, the Phillies came back and responded in game 5, rediscovering the long ball with 3 home runs to take a 3-2 series lead and move to one win away from returning to the World Series, looking for a better outcome this time.
Schwarber said of the team that "When you believe in yourself and a group cause that we have and a team that we have, it can be really hard to beat us. And we all believe in ourselves, truly. We believe that we can go out there and play really good baseball against the best."
Bryson Stott gave the Phillies an early lead in the first inning, hitting an RBI single that scored Schwarber to make it 1-0. Stott then took off for second, and Bryce Harper took off for home, with Harper stealing home to make it 2-0 Phillies. It stayed that way until the 6th inning, when Schwarber belted a solo home run to make it a 3-0 game.
Later in the inning, Harper hit a solo home run of his own, pummeling one to right field to make it a 4-0 game. Alek Thomas got the D-Backs on the board in the 7th inning with a solo home run, ending the shutout bid and making it 4-1. In the 8th, Realmuto made it a 6-1 score with a two run home run to left field.
Schwarber said after the game that "Everything was fantastic. It was a great response. Obviously, didn't work out the way we wanted last night, but it was great that we were able to turn the page and really put our focus and effort into this one."
Zack Wheeler was the starter for the Phillies, pitching 7 innings and allowing one run while striking out 8 hitters. Jeff Hoffman pitched a scoreless 8th before Seranthony Dominguez and Matt Strahm closed out the win in the 9th.
Zac Gallen allowed 4 runs on 6 hits and two walks in 6 innings as he started for the D-Backs. Miguel Castro pitched a scoreless 7th before both Joe Mantiply and Luis Frias were charged a run in the 8th. Slade Cecconi pitched a scoreless 9th inning.
Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said that "We know what's ahead of us. We have to go out and play our best game in Game 6. We have a very tough pitcher that we're going to be facing, but once again, I'm going to put it on our group. I believe in Merrill Kelly. I believe in the guys to go out there and execute and play at a higher level and make plays and do things right."
The series shifts back to Philadelphia for game 6 on Monday afternoon. The Phillies start Aaron Nola as they try to clinch the NL Pennant, while Merrill Kelly starts for the D-Backs as they need to win to keep their season alive and force a game 7.
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