Snakes On A Plane ... To Texas: Arizona Diamondbacks Shut Up Philadelphia To Reach World Series
Philadelphia is quiet.
The powerful and favored Philadelphia Phillies with their loud fans at Citizens Bank Park all shut up and shut down. They lost the National League Championship Series in game seven, 4-2, on Tuesday night in Philly.
The Arizona Diamondbacks instead are the snakes on the plane to Arlington, Texas, for the World Series against the Texas Rangers, beginning Friday (8 p.m., FOX).
"We're going to stay here tonight and then fly straight through to Texas," Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said, leaving Philly in his wake. "Yeah, we're going to make a left at Oklahoma and head straight south to Dallas."
Arizona was the sixth seed and final entry into the NL playoffs on the last day of the regular season. Texas beat 2022 World Series champion Houston in the seventh game of the ALCS on Monday night to advance. Philadelphia lost to Houston in the World Series last year, so it will be two fresh teams.
Arizona Diamondbacks Open World Series Vs. Texas Friday
Arizona's pitching quieted Philly over the last two days. The Diamondbacks evened the series at three games apiece on Monday with a 6-1 win.
Arizona's Corbin Carroll hits a sacrifice fly in the seventh for a 4-2 lead over Philadelphia in game seven of the NLCS Tuesday night in Philadelphia. (Photo by Rob Tringali/Getty Images)
"We did it. We did it," Arizona rookie outfielder Corbin Carroll said after going 3-for-4 with two RBIs. "We know what we have in that clubhouse. It's special."
Carroll, the likely NL rookie of the year, tied the game 2-2 in the fifth with an RBI single and scored for a 3-2 lead on Gabriel Moreno's single.
Arizona Rookie Corbin Carroll Led The Charge
Then Carroll's sacrifice fly made it 4-2 in the seventh. And that was enough.
The heart of Philadelphia's order, including Bryce Harper, went 1 for its last 20 and 0-for-7 in scoring position. Nick Castellanos went 0 for his last 23 with 11 strikeouts.
"We had some opportunities - 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position tonight," Philadelphia manager Rob Thomson lamented. "We're all disappointed."
The World Series will match two teams not in the Fall Classic for more than a decade. Arizona will be in it for the first time since winning its only world championship in 2001 over the New York Yankees. And Texas returns for the first time since 2011, still looking for a title.
Both Arizona and Texas lost 100 games just two seasons ago.
"For the entire state of Arizona, for this organization that's had a lot of hardships over the past 36, 48 months, for us to be where we are right now, it was a good moment," Lovullo said. "It was a pretty euphoric feeling."
The Diamondbacks did not look like a playoff team as recently as August when it lost nine straight games.
"There were definitely some dark days for all of us," Carroll said. "But we came out the better."
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - OCTOBER 24: The Arizona Diamondbacks celebrate after beating the Philadelphia Phillies 4-2 in Game Seven of the Championship Series at Citizens Bank Park on October 24, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)