Meanwhile, Zack Wheeler just kept on going. He retired the first twelve men he faced and looked like it was going to be one of those nights for him. The Phillies got another in the fourth when Schwarber lashed a two-out RBI double, but it wasn’t as though Wheeler needed it.
He just kept going.
In the fifth, the Diamondbacks got men on when Wheeler it Christian Walker to start the inning and Jake McCarthy singled, but Wheeler retired the next two hitters to try and wiggle his way out of it. Tucker Barnhart was having none of it, singling in Walker to make the score 6-1.
That was the end of that though.
The Phillies kept right on rolling, getting two more in their half of the fifth when Nick Castellanos homered back to Central Philadelphia.
Two more runs came across in the sixth when Castellanos singled in two, making it 10-1.
To make it an even dozen, David Dahl tried hitting the ball to roughly the same place Harper did (except his was against the backup catcher but whatever....).
It this kind of outing where you can almost feel all the players exhaling at once. No one team is invincible, of course, but it’s odd how the Diamondbacks, prior to today, have had the Phillies’ number at home. Pressing hitters, exploiting weaknesses, whatever it was, the team took their revenge today.
Watching Zack Wheeler deal as he did was a pleasure. There are few that are better than him when he is locked in as he was today. A clicking offense makes this team difficult to beat, no matter who the opposition is.
They’ll lock horns again tomorrow, but better have your coffee ready - it’s at 11:35 a.m.
It’s been a frustrating last few games the Phillies have played the Diamondbacks. The NLCS losses at home were the worst, but last night, losing yet again at home to Arizona with some golden opportunities let gone by, there was a tinge of anger.
Taking their guidance from the Sith lord himself, the Phillies released quite a bit of anger today, dismantling Arizona to the tune of a 12-1 demolition.
You could tell that the Phillies would be difficult to beat today when Zack Wheeler took the mound and put the Diamondbacks top three hitters down in fewer than ten pitches. He also likely felt a bit of anger towards himself after his last start where he allowed eight runs in five innings and was looking for a better start. When he has that look about his stuff, the team just needs to score runs. In the first few hitters, the Phillies got those runs right away. Kyle Schwarber got hit by a pitch, Trea Turner singled him to second and runners were on the corners with no one out for Bryce Harper. I was critical of Harper’s performance last night, but he atoned for his ways right away, singling up the middle for the first run of the game. With one out, Nick Castellanos hit a sacrifice fly to make it 2-0 and Wheeler had a lead.
In the third, Schwarber led off with a double, stayed put when Turner grounded out and Harper strode to the plate. Tommy Henry, the Diamondbacks starter, thought that a curveball was a decent call against Harper as a left/left matchup. Unfortunately for him, it is not.
If you want a better perspective on this shot, there’s this.
That’s....something.
Alec Bohm felt jealous enough that he followed Harper with a home run himself.
Bryce Harper had himself a day against the Diamondbacks including a 427 foot homerun. John Geliebter-USA TODAY Sports
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