Three takeaways as D-backs silence Phillies bats, advance to World Series

The 2023 World Series matchup is set.

After back-to-back Game 7s, this year's series will be one of the most unlikely matchups we have seen in quite some time as the Arizona Diamondbacks will play the Texas Rangers.

The Diamondbacks clinched their first World Series berth since 2001 with a 4-2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday night.

That came just one night after the Rangers did the same in Houston against the defending World Series champion Astros.

Here are three quick takeaways from Arizona's Game 7 win. 

1. The Diamondbacks absolutely earned this 

Critics of the new playoff format will complain the way this postseason went with favorites being eliminated early. They will look at an 84-win team playing in the World Series and scoff at it and talk about how it devalues the regular season. But how about giving some credit to the Diamondbacks for going on an absolutely incredible run?

The increased playoff field may have gotten them in the playoffs when they would have fallen short in previous years, but there was nothing easy about this run.

After winning a best-of-three series against a 92-win Milwaukee Brewers team on the road, they swept one of the league's powerhouse franchise in the Los Angeles Dodgers in the divisional round and then overcame an 0-2 series deficit in the NLCS against the reining National League champions. 

They not only won Games 6 and 7 on the road while facing elimination in a hostile environment, they also had two late game comebacks to even the series. 

They earned their spot here by outplaying some of the best teams in baseball. 

2. The Corbin Carroll contract is already a steal

Before the season even began the Diamondbacks made the bold move to sign their best young player, Carroll, to an eight-year, $111M contract extension despite the fact he had only played 30 games in the Major Leagues. 

It is a contract that is already paying for itself.

Not only did Carroll have a breakthrough regular season performance, he was also dominant in the Wild Card and NLDS rounds of the playoffs posting an OPS over 1.000 in both series. While his numbers dropped in the NLCS, he still jumpstarted Tuesday's win by going 3-for-4 with two runs scored and two runs driven.

He is already the top of superstar talent a team needs at the top of its roster to be a World Series caliber team and his best days are still ahead of him. The sky is the limit for his potential. 

3. An unlikely pitching hero for Diamondbacks emerges

During the regular season the Diamondbacks pitching staff was driven mostly by the top two starters in its rotation, Zac Gallen and Merill Kelly. 

In the playoffs, however, it has been rookie Brandon Pfaadt that has been the star of the pitching staff.

He delivered another money outing on Tuesday night by taking the mound in Game 7, on the road, and throwing four quality innings that included seven strikeouts to give the Diamondbacks a chance.

In four starts this postseason he has a 2.70 ERA and was especially strong in the NLCS. He struck out 16 batters in nine innings, allowing just two earned runs against the Phillies.

He did all of that after finishing the regular season with a 5.72 ERA.