PHOENIX, Az. (KYW Newsradio) — The Phillies weathered an early Arizona lead and jumped ahead with four unanswered runs in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series at Phoenix's Chase Field. But the Diamondbacks rallied to win the game in front of their home crowd and tie the series at two games each.
The Diamondbacks struck first in the second inning, thanks to an Emmanuel Rivera single that sent Christian Walker in for a run. That was initially made possible by an Alec Bohm error that allowed Walker on base.
A similar situation led to another Arizona run in the following inning, when a Cristopher Sanchez pitch bounced off J.T. Realmuto's glove, allowing Ketel Marte on base. Two hits later, Marte scored on a Gabriel Moreno single.
The Phils started picking up momentum in the fourth inning, when Kyle Schwarber homered off of a 3-2 Miguel Castro pitch. In doing so, he broke Reggie Jackson's record for most postseason homers.
Realmuto built on that momentum with a single in the fifth, then took advantage of a Schwarber ground out to reach second and retire Castro. When Andrew Saalfrank emerged from the Arizona bullpen, Brandon Marsh welcomed the reliever with a double that sent Realmuto home to tie the game at two.
The Diamondbacks got a taste of their own medicine in the sixth inning, when a Bohm ground ball ended up in third baseman Rivera's hands. A throw to home bounced off catcher Moreno's glove, allowing Schwarber and Trea Turner to score, putting the Fightins ahead 4-2.
The Phils continued their scoring streak in the seventh inning, when a Turner sacrifice fly sent Johan Rohas speeding home from third. Rojas had put himself in that position moments before with a triple to right field, the first playoff triple for the Phils since Chase Utley in 2011.
But Arizona came back the following inning to tie the game at 5 runs apiece, thanks to a two-run shot from Alek Thomas off reliever Craig Kimbrel. Manager Rob Thomson replaced Kimbrel with Jose Alvarado, but the change on the mound wasn't enough to prevent another Diamondbacks score, with Moreno singling to score Marte and give Arizona a 6-5 lead going into the ninth inning.
The ninth inning saw closer Paul Sewald take the mound for Arizona. Sewald quickly struck out Marsh and Jake Cave, before Schwarber briefly gave the Phils and fans some hope with a single to right. It wasn't to be, though, as Sewald snuffed out the rally by striking out Turner to end the game, 6-5.
Fans watching the game in Fairmount were devastated, but they could find solace in the fact that the Diamondbacks will now have to win it in Philadelphia. Andrew from Bucks County said that's something Arizona doesn't want.
"The D-Backs just can't handle that," said Andrew. "They can't, they don't want that. I don't know if any team wants that to be honest with you right now."
The series continues Saturday night at Chase Field with Game 5, before returning to South Philadelphia on Monday.
KYW Newsradio's Nigel Thompson contributed to this story.
