The Arizona Diamondbacks’ 2023 season was one with many ups and downs, especially in the second half. One thing that seemed to define them was that every time they had a terrible stretch where it looked like the season was over, they bounced back. With that in mind, the two wins in Milwaukee, which defeated the Brewers in the Wild Card Series, felt appropriate, ending with a 5-2 victory on Wednesday. Arizona will face the second-seeded Dodgers in the NLDS starting Saturday.
The surge in Game 1 was sudden and somewhat shocking. It seemed like the party had begun at American Family Field as the Brewers took a 3-0 lead, but a two-run shot from Corbin Carroll was followed by a home run from Ketel Marte that tied the game. Gabriel Moreno hit a home run in the next inning and the D-Backs never looked back.
In Game 2 it was sudden and somewhat shocking again. Brewers starter Freddy Peralta was completely confident. He went four scoreless innings without allowing a single hit. He had struck out five. He had been dominant at home so many times this season and this looked like another one of those games. Then Alek Thomas hit a home run in the fifth, cutting the Brewers’ lead to 2-1. Then the walk of Geraldo Perdomo leading off the sixth meant the top of the order came with no outs and could get a third look at Peralta. Carroll doubled. Marte hit a single and Arizona had the lead.
The fact that the Brewers seemed to implode in some aspects for the second straight season didn’t hurt matters for Arizona. In Game 1, after every man left the base (eight total) and missed two bases-loaded opportunities, the Brewers gave the D-backs some cushion with a run-scoring wild pitch. A fumble in no man’s land created a fourth run in that wild sixth inning. The D-Backs led 5-2 and once again never looked back.
The Diamondbacks advance to the next round behind two frontline pitchers. We can call Gallen an ace, and Merrill Kelly played like one for much of the season. From then on it’s a patchwork rotation. Paul Sewald is a capable closer, if inconsistent, and he’s got plenty of talent in front of him (Kevin Ginkel was a hitter in Game 1, Andrew Saalfrank escaped a base-loaded jam in the eighth inning here in Game 2), but in a big way and overall it is an inconspicuous unity.
As far as position players go, Carroll could already be considered a star and Marte was considered one before, but this group is devoid of national, household names, unless many people remember Evan Longoria from a long time ago (himself that’s far-fetched). ). What are you doing? Well, they are versatile. They play excellent defense. They have some good base stealers led by an absolute burner in Carroll. They have the power in Carroll, Marte, Lourdes Gurreil Jr. and Christian Walker, who has hit 69 homers over the past two seasons combined.
Added to this is the constant presence of experienced coach Torey Lovullo in the dugout. He is now in his seventh year as captain of the D-Backs. He made the playoffs in his first season and then things took a downturn. Many different teams would have fired the manager after losing 110 games, like Arizona did in 2021. Instead, they stuck with the respected Lovullo and now head to the NLDS with a fun team that doesn’t mind being the underdog and coming from the region at the back if it has to.