PHILADELPHIA — On August 11, Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo faced a bleak situation. His team had just lost their ninth consecutive game, losing their grip on the NL West and their chance at the postseason seemed to be slipping away. Lovullo knew they needed to turn things around somehow.
And that’s exactly what they did. The Diamondbacks won their next game, then another, and kept winning more than they lost for the rest of the month. They did just enough to secure the sixth and final seed in the postseason, despite being an 84-win team that was expected to perform worse. But they didn’t need to be the best team, they just needed a ticket to the dance.
Now, they find themselves in the World Series, a feat not accomplished by a team with such little regular season success since the 2006 St. Louis Cardinals. It’s a surprising turn of events that has left many in baseball shocked.
But the Diamondbacks don’t care what anyone thinks. The 45,397 fans at Citizens Bank Park couldn’t believe it either, especially after the Phillies won the first two games of the series and only needed one more victory to advance. No one predicted this outcome.
In their journey to the World Series, the Diamondbacks have shown incredible determination and hustle. Rookie outfielder Corbin Carroll has been sensational, recording three hits and a crucial seventh-inning sacrifice fly. Fellow rookie Gabriel Moreno has delivered key RBI singles. The bullpen has been strong behind rookie starter Brandon Pfaadt. They have defied the odds and proven everyone wrong.
On the other side, Phillies manager Rob Thomson made some questionable decisions that didn’t pay off. Despite a home run from third baseman Alec Bohm and a few other bright spots, the Phillies couldn’t capitalize on their opportunities and fizzled out against the Diamondbacks’ bullpen.
Just a week ago, it seemed unlikely that the Diamondbacks would make it this far. The Phillies looked like the clear favorite. But now, the Diamondbacks are on the brink of a pennant, while the Phillies face collapse.
For Lovullo, the doubters and skeptics have only fueled his team’s fire. They don’t believe they deserve to be here, they think they’ll get crushed, but that just motivates them more. They’ve relished in proving everyone wrong.
It’s a different approach for Thomson, who tries to tune out the noise and focus on the task at hand. He’s not listening to the criticism about his lineup decisions, and he believes in sticking with what he knows.
The Diamondbacks struck first in Game 7, scoring in the first inning and silencing the crowd. Bohm brought the fans back with a home run, but the Phillies couldn’t capitalize on their opportunities in the following innings. Momentum swung back to the Diamondbacks when Carroll delivered a game-tying single and Moreno drove in the go-ahead run.
The Diamondbacks’ bullpen held strong in the final innings, sealing their ticket to the World Series. It’s a stunning outcome, especially considering how the series looked just a week ago. But for the Diamondbacks, it’s a moment of triumph and a chance to prove themselves on the biggest stage. They have defied expectations and earned their spot in the World Series.