After the first two games of the National League Championship Series, the Philadelphia Phillies appeared primed to steal the series in four or five games. Then Brandon Pfaadt threw a nine-strikeout gem in Game 3, and not only brought the series to 2-1 but gave the Arizona Diamondbacks hope headed into Game 4.
"Momentum is a real thing. You're right back in it. The narrative has definitely changed," Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo told reporters pregame. "And I think our team is always ready to go out and scrap, fight, battle, do whatever they have to do to win a baseball game.
"It was a typical type of outcome for us in a close game. We expect to be able to execute at a high level and stay in it and hopefully get a chance to win games like that. When you do, it's just a really good feeling. To watch those guys celebrate on the field and actively be a part of the excitement postgame, it was a great feeling, and this team is in a really good spot."
But piecing together outs in Game 4 will be a challenge for the Diamondbacks, as they are electing to go with a bullpen game. Joe Mantiply will start for the team and immediately after Game 3, the team's pitching coach Brent Strom began working with the right-hander on formulating a game plan while the rest of the team celebrated in the clubhouse.
Mantiply, however, has struggled against the Phillies throughout his career, posting a 7.36 ERA and only seven strikeouts in five appearances. So considering how the Phillies have swung the bats throughout the postseason, both Mantiply and Strom will have their work cut out for them in Game 4.
How pitching has evolved in Major League Baseball
Phillies starter Zack Wheeler, who will start Game 5 for Philadelphia, was asked how pitching and developing has changed since he was drafted 14 seasons ago. And he admitted it's something that he thinks about a lot.
"From my shoes, coming up as a top prospect, I was babied a little bit and that's normal," Wheeler told reporters. "I guess if I was drafting somebody who I thought had potential and a really good arm, I would probably do the same thing. But at the same time, I think maybe today they're holding back a little bit too much.
"You can have all the good bullpen arms that you want -- talking about the Big Leagues now -- but if every starter is going five innings, it's going to eventually wear down the bullpen over the long run. And the bullpen right now is where they come in big-time for us is in the playoffs. You need them fresh. You need a starter who can go five, six, seven innings. At least a couple that can go deeper. Just throughout the season, those one or two innings more than other starters sometimes add up over the season.
"But it's not my call. I don't make that investment, so I can't tell you how to do it. But just from being a starter and running through that process, I would like to see the leash unraveled a little bit more. You have to pitch in tough situations. You have to pitch fatigued. You have to pitch tired at the end of the season to be able to know how to do that at the Big League level.
I think you have to learn that in the Minor Leagues. When you are running out of juice, you still have to be able to pitch, so I think that's big."
