It was a game where the presence of superstars exploded. Among them, Bryce Harper (31, Philadelphia Phillies), a ‘446.5 billion won big man’, stole the home run and then hit a sit-down home run to play a key role in the team’s victory. Philadelphia, which came close to winning the championship last year after losing to the Houston Astros, is only one win away from advancing to the World Series for the second year in a row.
Philadelphia won 6-1 over the Arizona Diamondbacks in Game 5 of the 2023 Major League Baseball Postseason National League Championship Series (NLCS, best of 7) held at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona, USA on the 22nd (Korean time).토스카지노
The game on this day could be summarized by the names of three people: Harper, Jack Wheeler (33), and Kyle Schwarber (30). Harper shook up the opponent’s battery with a home steal in the top of the first inning, and then engraved his name in Major League history with a thunderous home run that sealed the team’s victory in the top of the sixth inning. Not only did he become the second player in major league history to steal a home and hit a home run in the same game in the postseason, but he also extended the team’s record of consecutive wins in games in which he hit a home run to the ‘longest 11 games’. It is also the first postseason home steal in the history of the Philadelphia team, and is a record that has only occurred 22 times among all teams.
Wheeler is becoming a new fall ace. On this day, he achieved a quality start plus (3 earned runs or less in 7 or more innings as a starter), allowing 1 run in 7 innings, and recorded 4 wins and 3 losses in 10 postseason games, an ERA of 2.48, and WHIP (on-base percentage allowed per inning) of 0.73. According to Sarah Lang, a major league statistics expert, Wheeler’s WHIP of 0.73 is the lowest among pitchers who have started more than 10 postseason games. He is also the pitcher with the fifth-most strikeouts (34) while walking two or fewer over four postseason games.
Schwarber, who hit a home run the previous day (21st) and became the player with the most home runs in the postseason among left-handed hitters in Major League history, recorded his 20th home run in 63 postseason games with this home run. Another fall man, Jose Altuve (Houston), achieved 20 home runs in 68 postseason games by 5 games, raising expectations for a future World Series matchup.
Philadelphia, which has taken the lead in the series with 3 wins and 2 losses, is trying to end this series at home. Ace Aaron Nola steps forward. Nola has pitched in 3 postseason games this year and has 3 wins, no losses, and an ERA of 0.96. Arizona, attempting the World Series for the first time in 22 years, is aiming for a second straight win away from home in an enemy field. The starting pitcher for Game 6 will be ‘KBO reverse export legend’ Meryl Kelly. Kelly has appeared in two games this postseason and has 1 win, 1 loss, and an ERA of 3.00.
This was the first inning where Harper proved why he is called a major league superstar. Leadoff hitter Schwarber hit an infield single and Harper got on base with two outs and a base hit, but Stutt lifted the knuckle curve of Gallen’s low fourth pitch and hit a timely hit with an RBI to right field.
With a runner on first base, Stutt immediately stole second base, and this is when Harper’s agility shined. Taking advantage of Moreno’s throw to second base, Harper attempted to steal home. Arizona second baseman Marte tried to block it, but the throw went off the home line, and while Moreno was receiving it, he collided with the onrushing Harper and fell. While looking at Moreno, Harper touched the home plate again to confirm the score. Philadelphia leads 2-0.
After a brief moment of confusion, the two pitchers, Gallen and Wheeler, calmed down like aces and continued throwing scoreless pitches. Wheeler did not give up a run until the 6th inning without any major problems throughout, and Gallen maintained the score gap until the middle of the game by making three-way strikes in a row in the 3rd, 4th, and 5th innings. However, he was unable to withstand the bats of Schwarber and Harper, the two hottest batters this fall, for more than two at-bats.
Schwarber stepped up as the leadoff hitter in the top of the sixth inning and hit a knuckle curve on Gallen’s third pitch, who was in the middle of the pitch, and connected with a solo shot to right-center. It was a huge 461-foot home run that you could tell as soon as it was hit. According to Sarah Lang, a major league statistics expert, this home run was the fifth longest hit in the postseason since the introduction of Statcast in 2015. In addition, with his 5th home run in this Championship Series, he became the second player to hit 6 home runs in a single series after Nelson Cruz, who hit 6 in the 2011 American League Championship Series (ALCS).
It didn’t end here. Then, after a full-count match, Harper hit Galen’s 7th pitch high fastball, sending it wide over the right-center wall. It was a large arch with a distance of 444 feet. According to Lang, Harper became the second player to hit a home run and steal a home in one postseason game after Randy Arozarena in Game 1 of the 2021 American League Division Series (ALDS).
Galen’s crisis continued as he was walked by Bohm and hit by Stutt, but he managed to end the sixth inning by forcing Realmuto into a double play. Gallen showed a strong performance at home this season with 12 wins, 3 losses, and an ERA of 2.47 in 16 games at home, and 5 wins, 6 losses, and an ERA of 4.42 in 18 away games, but on this day, he allowed 6 hits (2 home runs) in 6 innings, walked 2, and struck out 1. We lost face by conceding 4 goals.
In contrast to this was Wheeler’s pitching. He was disappointing this year with 32 games, 13 wins, 6 losses, and an ERA of 3.61 in the regular season, but he pitched well every day in the postseason and was reborn as a new fall man. On this day, he didn’t even have any difficulties except for being hit by Alec Thomas with a solo shot in the bottom of the 7th inning. In the end, Wheeler achieved a quality start plus with 6 hits (1 home run), 1 walk, 8 strikeouts, and 1 run in 7 innings, giving the team the lead.
Philadelphia virtually confirmed their victory in the top of the 8th inning when catcher Realmuto hit a two-run shot to left with 2 outs and runners on first base. With this home run, Philadelphia became the team with the second most home runs in the same period, hitting 23 home runs in 11 games this postseason alone. The team with the most home runs in 11 single postseason games is the 2004 Houston Astros, with 24 arches.
Arizona, which had turned the game around in the 8th and 9th innings in games 3 and 4, did not have three consecutive miracles. Jeff Hoffman (1 inning), Serantoni Dominguez (⅔ inning), and Matt Strahm (⅓ inning) took the mound one by one and pitched 2 scoreless innings, preserving Philadelphia’s 6-1 victory.