'I was booing myself': Diamondbacks win crucial NLCS game after controversial pitching change

PHOENIX — OK so it didn’t quite have the drama of Luis Gonzalez’s walk-off hit in 2001.

This was a Game 3 in the National League Championship Series, not a World Series Game 7.

This didn’t produce a title for the Arizona Diamondbacks over the powerful New York Yankees that made Gonzalez a hero in Arizona.

But, on a record-setting hot day in Arizona with temperatures hitting 103, the name of Ketel Marte will forever resonate in D-backs history.

It was Marte’s walk-off single with one out in the ninth inning that not only saved the Diamondbacks’ season with a 2-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League Championship Series, but also prevented manager Torey Lovullo from being vilified all winter.

Brandon Pfaadt, the D-backs’ 25-year-old rookie, was pitching the greatest game of his career Thursday when he looked towards the dugout in the sixth inning and saw Lovullo walking to the mound. He couldn’t believe it. Neither could the crowd of 47,075 at Chase Field. Or even Pfaadt’s teammates.

“He looked good, man, he was great," D-backs right fielder Tommy Pham said. “If anything, I would have left him in. You don’t want to take out a guy like that with so much momentum on our side. Let him keep going."

Pfaadt had given up just two hits, striking out nine, and had thrown just 70 pitches in 5 ⅔ shutout innings. He joined Don Newcombe of the 1949 Brooklyn Dodgers as the only rookies to strike out at least nine batters without a walk in postseason history.

Still, Lovullo walked to the mound, and was serenaded by loud boos, with fans showing their disgust at the decision, saying, according to Lovullo, “Has the manager lost his absolute mind?’

“I'm sure I was the most unpopular guy in the city of Phoenix, in the downtown area, and maybe in the entire state of Arizona, right? I was booing myself as I walked out to the mound," Lovullo said. “I didn’t need to be in the stands. …

“I want everybody to know, that is trying to think along with me, that we have a strategy. I have a strategy for everything that's done. Everything that's done has been well talked about. It's not just analytics. I know how quickly playoff baseball can change.

“So, yes, I am prepared to get booed. I am prepared to get second-guessed. It's my job."

The decision to remove him was mostly scripted, with Lovullo saying before the game that he was counting on Pfaadt to face about 18 batters, which was exactly number Pfaadt saw. Yet, Lovullo brushed back at the notion it was simply a matter of analytics, and that a decision was made without discussing it with pitching coach Brent Strom and his staff.

“So, the conversations are very typical," Lovullo said. “I’m asking them if the manager is an idiot after taking his out after five and two-thirds [innings]. I know it's a very unpopular decision, but we have great information.’’

Pfaadt wasn’t too keen with the decision either, but hey, he’s a rookie. What’s he going to say? Besides, it all worked out in the end.

“Obviously I'm a competitor," Pfaadt said. “I want to keep going. Everybody does, but at the end of the day, you just have to trust his decision and move forward, go to the bullpen, let them do their jobs."

Despite a few shaky moments by the bullpen after Pfaadt’s departure, coughing up a run in the seventh inning on reliever Ryan Thompson’s wild pitch, the D-backs quickly recovered to score the game-tying run in the seventh.

It set up the ninth inning with the Diamondbacks capitalizing on veteran closer Craig Kimbrel’s wildness, retiring just one of the four batters he faced, culminating on Marte’s sharp single to center field, setting off a wild celebration.

And, yes, a whole lot of relief, with the D-backs winning their first NLCS game since beating Atlanta in 2001.

“It feels great," Marte said. “In my opinion, that’s what we needed right? The support, a little bump, or a little push so we can kind of turn it back against them. ... I’m excited to be fighting."

Really, Marte was destined to be the Diamondbacks’ hero.

He’s the only guy hitting for Arizona. Marte is 6-for-13 (.462) in the series while his teammates are hitting just .179.

“He has an unbelievable heartbeat," Lovullo said. “He loves to be in that moment. He is one of our best players for a reason. …

“Ketel thrives in that situation. He just has the heart of a lion. He wants to get the job done and be the main guy to help his team win a baseball game."

If it wasn’t for Tommy Pham, who was busy putting together motorized rally cars in the clubhouse afterwards, Marte may never have gotten the chance to be a hero.

Pham, who was in a zero-for-12 slide and struck out in his first two at-bats Thursday, was told that he was going to be taken out of the game for a pinch-hitter in the sixth inning. Yet, he was on the on-deck circle when the inning ended.

Lovullo stuck with Pham to open the seventh inning, and he delivered a sharp leadoff single to center field off reliever Orion Kerkering. Speedy Alek Thomas was brought in to pinch-run for Pham, and he scored easily on Lourdes Gurriel’s sharp double into the left-field corner, tying game at 1-apiece.

“They wanted to take me out," Pham said, “but I’ve got to prove them wrong, I guess.’’

The Diamondbacks still trail in the NLCS, 2 games to 1, but now have life, knowing that their victory guarantees ace, Zac Gallen, will pitch Game 5 at Chase Field after going with a bullpen-by-committee Friday.

GAME 3 RECAP: Diamondbacks beat Phillies on Ketel Marte's walk-off

“Zac pitching at home, hey, that sounds pretty good," Pham. “I’ll take that any day."

The D-backs still believe, and if nothing else, maybe they created a little doubt that the Phillies won’t steamroll them on their way to a return trip to the World Series.

“We have a lot of talent on this club," Marte said. “We just have to believe it. And I think we do. We can compete with anybody in this league.

“You’re seeing that."

Follow Nightengale on X: @Bnightengale 

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Diamondbacks win crucial NLCS game after controversial pitching change