The Philadelphia Phillies and the Arizona Diamondbacks meet Friday in MLB postseason action from Chase Field. This will be Game 4 in a best-of-seven National League Championship Series playoff. The Phillies were able to take both their home games by a 12-run margin in the first pair. In Thursday’s Game 3, Arizona struck back with a one-run walk-off victory to make the series 2-1. Check back all season long for free MLB picks at Sports Chat Place. 

Philadelphia Phillies 

Philadelphia got off to a great start in this series, defending Citizens Bank Park well. In Monday’s game one, the Phillies posted a 5-3 win with home runs from Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper (two RBI; two runs) and Nick Castellanos. Game 2 was an even more dominant effort, as Schwarber stayed hot with two solo homers and three runs in a 10-0 blowout win. JT Realmuto got in on the action with three RBI as well. In Thursday’s matchup, the Phillies’ bats fell silent with just three team hits in a 2-1 loss. Harper walked twice and plated the lone run. 

In the starting pitcher slot for Game 4, the Phillies will go with Christopher Sanchez. This year Sanchez went 3-5 with a 3.44 ERA in 19 games (18 starts). This will be the first postseason appearance of Sanchez’s career. 

Philadelphia Phillies Team Facts

• The home team has won each of the Phillies’ last six games.
• The Phillies have covered the run line in each of their last eight night playoff games.
• The Phillies have led after 5 innings in each of their last eight night playoff games.
• The Phillies have led after 7 innings in each of their last eight night games against opponents that held a winning record.
• The Phillies have led after 3 innings in each of their last seven night games against NL West opponents that held a winning record.

Arizona Diamondbacks 

Over on the Diamondbacks’ side, they fell behind in a 5-0 hole by the fifth inning in Game 1 and couldn’t do much on just four team hits despite a couple of RBI and a homer from Geraldo Perdomo. Arizona’s futility extended into Game 2 on another four hits (Ketel Marte had two of them) and a single walk. At home at Chase in Game 3, the Diamondbacks got another big outing from Marte, who provided the walk-off single and three hits. Lourdes Gurriel posted a pair of hits and an RBI as well. 

Serving as a short-innings opener, it’ll be Joe Mantiply in the starting role for the Diamondbacks in Game 4. Mantiply is 2-0 with a 9.00 ERA in four games (zero starts) this postseason. He’s got four strikeouts over 3.0 total innings. Zac Gallen will presumably pitch Game 5 on Saturday.  

Arizona Diamondbacks Team Facts

• The Diamondbacks have won each of their last seven games as home underdogs against National League opponents.
• The Diamondbacks have covered the run line in each of their last eight home games against National League opponents.
• The Diamondbacks have trailed after 7 innings in each of their last five night games against NL East opponents.
• The Diamondbacks have led after 3 innings in three of their last four games as home underdogs against National League opponents.
• The ‘Inning 1 UNDER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in each of the Diamondbacks’ last three night games at Chase Field.

Matchup/League Facts

• The Arizona Diamondbacks rank 1st in the league for triples this season (44).
• The Arizona Diamondbacks rank 2nd in the league for steals this season (166).
• The Philadelphia Phillies are one of only 3 teams in the league to rank top 10 in both steals and batting average this season.
• The Philadelphia Phillies are one of only 3 teams in the league to rank top 10 in both steals and home runs this season.

ANDREW’S FREE PICK 

I might take a stab on the Phillies here. It’s going to be an interesting game, though. Sanchez hasn’t pitched since back on September 30, going one clean inning versus the Mets. Sanchez is 1-1 over his last 12.0 innings with five earned runs on 10 hits and just two walks. If he can post a quality outing it’ll set the Phillies up well. That said, the bats have to come back. Philadelphia had 20 hits combined in the first two games of this series; in Game 3 they had just three hits. The pitching staff still kept Philly in it until the end though, so I like the bullpen to hold it together in this one as well. Should be another compelling matchup.