Diamondbacks' Merrill Kelly gets last laugh over Phillies in NLCS Game 6
Last Tuesday, Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Merrill Kelly provided the Philadelphia Phillies and their fans with a piece of bulletin-board material ahead of Game 2 of the National League Championship Series.
Kelly claimed that the notoriously raucous crowd at Citizens Bank Park likely wouldn't be as loud as the crowd for a World Baseball Classic game last March in Miami.
Philadelphia fans and their media megaphones jumped on Kelly's comment and the Phillies themselves jumped on Arizona's starter, who allowed four runs over 5.2 innings in a 10-0 blowout loss.
Kelly returned to Citizens Bank Park on Monday for Game 6, taking the mound with his team facing elimination. Aside from an RBI single by Brandon Marsh in the second inning, Kelly was spotless over five frames, surrendering only three hits and striking out eight.
The Diamondbacks lived to see another day, winning 5-1 and forcing a seventh game on Tuesday. It was Philadelphia's first home loss of the 2023 postseason.
For the Phillies, Monday's loss felt similar to the way they ended last year's World Series. After playing with house money all postseason and blitzing their opponents with home runs, their bats were silenced by the Houston Astros over the final three games. Most notably, Astros starter Cristian Javier and three relievers combined for a no-hitter in Game 4.
Much like Houston last year, Arizona appears to have burst the Citizens Bank Park bubble. The Diamondbacks now have the momentum for Game 7, and they have Kelly to thank. In the end, he was right. Phillies fans had nothing on Team Venezuela fans.
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