Today, the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Philadelphia Phillies crossed swords in the desert for Game #3 of the series.
Because the Phillies led 2-0, the DBacks didn’t have the strength to lose. And to do that, Brandon Pfaadt had the ball for Arizona.
Ranger Suarez was his opponent.
Pfaadt understood the challenge and he struck out 17 of the first 18 batters he faced. He gave up just two hits in that span and struck out nine batters.
And the 10th out, it was the manager of the DBacks who did it. How? By retiring his pitcher after 70 pitches and 5.2 high quality innings.
The supporters were complaining… like everyone else on social networks.
Ranger Suarez was pulled in the sixth, too, although he also had a good start. But as he showed signs of weakness, things went better.
It went better following Pfaadt’s decision, in any case.
The Diamondbacks and Phillies, against relief, scored in the seventh. Bryce Harper crossed home plate and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. hit a timely double to bring the teams within 1-1.
The DBacks got into trouble afterwards, but Ketel Marte, in the ninth inning, played hero. He avoided having the umpire decide the fate of the match and hit a game-winning hit.
Result? The Phillies (three hits) are beatable. The DBacks managed to secure two more games, including one with Zac Gallen in two days.
The next game is tomorrow… and the Phillies will have to work harder to win the series.
