Diamondbacks are stunning baseball world, leaving Dodgers on the brink of elimination

LOS ANGELES — The music was blaring in the visiting clubhouse at Dodger Stadium, laughter filled the air, and the Arizona Diamondbacks were giddy as they packed their bags for their quick flight home.

The last time they were in Phoenix, they were swept by the Houston Astros to end the regular season. They still were able to clinch the final National League playoff berth on the next-to-last day with 84 victories but had no idea if they’d return for another home game.

When they take the field Wednesday night, their fans just may blow the retractable roof off Chase Field, celebrating the Diamondbacks’ stunning run through the postseason, trampling over everyone in their path.

The Diamondbacks rolled past the powerful Los Angeles Dodgers once again Monday, 4-2, and are one victory away from reaching the NL championship series for the first time since 2007, putting the Dodgers on the brink of elimination.

If you thought the D-backs’ pool party at Chase Field was epic when they clinched their playoff berth, that one may look like an elementary school cupcake party by the time this revelry ends.

The Dodgers have been kicking sand in the D-backs’ faces for decades. If it hasn’t been tough enough watching the Dodgers win 10 NL West titles in the past 11 years, whenever they come to town, they have turned Chase Field into Dodger Stadium West with their legion of fans.

This time, with Game 3 of their best-of-five series scheduled for 9:07 p.m. ET Wednesday (TBS), the L.A. fans may be silenced, with D-backs fans buying the last tickets available, ready to watch the Dodgers’ reign silently end.

"Oh man, I got to tell my nephew the game is sold out, he can’t come," D-backs outfielder Tommy Pham. "He’s going to be upset."

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Well, he should be able to get over it, considering that with one more victory, the Diamondbacks’ magical postseason run will go on, playing the winner of Atlanta-Philadelphia in the NLCS.

"We’re playing with nothing to lose," D-backs closer Paul Sewald said. "Why would we play with anything to lose? We were the sixth seed. We weren’t supposed to beat Milwaukee. No one picked us to win there. No one is going to pick us to beat the Dodgers when we haven’t played well against them. I think we’re going out there with a lot of confidence, not afraid to lose."

It started with that first wild-card game in Milwaukee, when they found themselves trailing the Brewers 3-0 and then lit up 2021 Cy Young winner Corbin Burnes, winning 6-3. They won again the next night 5-2. They traveled to Los Angeles and embarrassed three-time Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw, scoring six runs and knocking him out of the game after one-third inning, winning 11-2. On Monday, they did the same to rookie Bobby Miller, scoring three first-inning runs, ending his night after 1⅔ innings.

"It certainly helps when you score six in the first and three in the first," said Sewald, barely able to contain his laughter, "to feel better about yourself, obviously."

Maybe now folks will start to realize the D-backs are for real. This playoff run isn’t a fluke. They have dominated the opposition and have led in 29 of the 36 innings they’ve played in the postseason.

No starting pitcher has lasted longer than five innings against the D-backs, with the Dodgers starting rotation yielding a 40.50 ERA in these two games, L.A. using its bullpen for 48 of its 54 outs.

"We hear the talk," Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. "We hear that maybe we’re like the little brother that everybody can beat up on. We take that personally. We embrace it.

"We understand that we haven’t done a lot compared to the Dodgers or the Astros or some of the teams that are getting some of the notoriety …

"These guys are very hungry, and they feel like they have a lot to prove."

The truth is that the D-backs are surprising themselves a little, too. They felt confident they could beat the Brewers, particularly when it was announced Milwaukee's No. 2 starter Brandon Woodruff couldn’t pitch because of a sore arm.

They went to L.A. hoping for a split and taking their chances back at home. But a sweep? Uh-uh.

"Realistically, I was hoping to leave here with one win," Pham said, "and we got two. Even better.

"But I know people are surprised. The Dodgers are a great organization. They have two guys over there (Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman) that are going to finish top-3 MVP. I get it.

"But we’re playing with an edge."

The D-backs offense is relentless, putting on the type of pressure that makes the opposition wilt. They showcased their attack at the outset with Corbin Carroll drawing a walk, and Ketel Marte laying down a bunt. Pham hitting a single. Christian Walker hitting a sacrifice fly. Pham stealing second base. Gabriel Moreno grounding out for another run. And Lourdes Gurriel hitting a single for the third run.

It was 3-0 before D-backs ace Zac Gallen threw his first pitch, and he and four D-backs relievers made sure the Dodgers were finished.

"This is a great opportunity for everyone to show the world they can play," Pham said.

Certainly, no one is putting on a show like rookie outfielder Carroll. He reached base four more times Monday and is hitting .500 this postseason. He joined Hall of Famer Lou Gehrig as the only players to produce seven hits, three extra-base hits and two homers, walk five times, drive in four runs and score six runs over any four-game span in postseason history.

"I’m just trying to do my job," Carroll said. "It’s not just me, it’s our whole lineup passing the baton to the next guy up. I’m just staying in the moment and not let anything in the past or the future dictate how I operate."

It’s dramatically different down the hallway in the Dodgers clubhouse, where their powerful offense looks like it hit the Santa Monica beach during their layoff and never returned. This is a team that scored 906 runs this season, the most by the franchise since the 1953 Brooklyn Dodgers, but have scored just four runs in 18 innings.

Betts, who likely will be the runner-up in the MVP race, is in a 3-for-34 skid since the 2021 NLCS. Freeman, who will finish third or fourth in the balloting, has yet to hit the ball out of the infield this series. The duo is 1-for-13 this series.

"We had a couple of opportunities, and we just didn’t cash it in," Betts said. "For me and Freddie, that’s kind of our role and we’re not doing it. I take ownership in that. We have to figure out a way, man. There are no excuses. We just have to find a way to execute."

This is the first time the Dodgers have trailed 0-2 in a division series since 2006, and in the best-of-five series, teams that are 2-0 have won 89% of the time.

The Dodgers desperately need someone to step up to avoid back-to-back first-round ousters. A year ago, it was the San Diego Padres who ended their season, despite finishing 22 games behind them during the regular season. Now, it’s the Diamondbacks, who finished 16 games back this season.

But that regular-season team that won 84 games hardly resembles this playoff version, with the young talent all coming together at once.

"I remember last year when I played with Milwaukee, we kept saying these guys are really talented, just the way they play," D-backs infielder Jace Peterson said. “The main thing there is they play the game fast, and when you play fast, you play aggressive and good things happen.

"I know people see the Dodgers. They see the Braves. They see the teams that have done it for a long time. But this team is super talented.

"We’ve got something special going, and now everyone’s seeing it."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Diamondbacks push Dodgers to brink of elimination, stun baseball world