Ketel Marte Delivers Arizona Diamondbacks Their 3rd Walk-Off Win in Postseason History
Needing a win to keep their World Series hopes alive, the Arizona Diamondbacks' most reliable hitter stepped up to the plate.
Philadelphia Phillies closer Craig Kimbrel was struggling in the bottom of the ninth with the score knotted at 1-1, walking multiple batters to load the bases and bring Ketel Marte to the plate. The second baseman saw a high fastball from Kimbrel and lined it to center, delivering a rare walk-off victory for Arizona on Game 3 of the NLCS.
The Diamondbacks only had two walk-offs in their franchise's postseason history prior to Thursday, both of which came in 2001. Tony Womack lifted Arizona to victory in Game 5 of the NLDS that year, while Luis Gonzalez walked off Game 7 of the World Series against Mariano Rivera a few weeks later.
Kimbrel may not have the playoff reputation of Rivera, but he still ranks eighth all time in career saves.
Marte, who enjoyed quite the bounce-back campaign in 2023, got a hold of Kimbrel's shaky stuff and clinched Arizona's first win of the series. The Diamondbacks now trail the Phillies 2-1 with Games 4 and 5 also set to take place at Chase Field.
Prior to the final moments, the Diamondbacks and Phillies played a tight contest featuring premier pitching on both ends. Ranger Suárez tossed 5.1 scoreless innings for Philadelphia, while rookie Brandon Pfaadt went 5.2 innings for Arizona without giving up a run.
No one on either team came across to score until the top of the seventh, when Bryce Harper made it home on a wild pitch by rookie reliever Andrew Saalfrank. The Phillies' lead was short-lived, though, since Lourdes Gurriel Jr. notched an RBI double to tie things up in the bottom of the inning.
Philadelphia stranded Harper on second in the ninth thanks to closer Paul Sewald's inning-ending strikeout, setting up a historic opportunity for Arizona.
After Gurriel got gunned down at the plate on a grounder to short, Marte stepped up and converted, preventing the game from going to extra innings, where the Phillies could have gone up 3-0 in the series. Only one team has ever come back from down 3-0, so avoiding that hole was a must for the Diamondbacks on Thursday.
Game 4 is scheduled to start at 8:07 p.m. ET on Friday. Cristopher Sanchez will take the mound for the Phillies, while the Diamondbacks have yet to announce their next starter.
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