The Diamondbacks did it in what was a much closer game then the score indicated yesterday. From Chris Young’s lead off homer to Livan Hernandez’s outing the mound, things just seemed to click and the end result was a 5-1 win that finished up their sweep over the Phillies.
Chris Young got things going with a solo homer in the very first at bat of the game and from then on, the Diamondbacks never gave up the lead. Later in the inning, Justin Upton singled home Stephen Drew and they made it 3-0 in the fourth when Eric Byrnes drove home a run on a ground out.
In the meantime, Livan Hernandez got out of a few james. He left two runners on in the first, two in the second, and two in the fifth. He was the beneficiary of three of the four double plays the Diamondbacks turned and that’s primary reason how he could give up ten baserunners (five walks and five hits) yet just give up a single run. The pen also did a nice job and Tony Pena, Brandon Lyon and Jose Valverde each threw a scoreless frame.
Stephen Drew hit a solo homer in the sixth and Eric Byrnes went yard in the ninth with solo homers but those two runs were just gravy. It seems a lot longer, but this is the first time the Diamondbacks have made it to the NLCS since they won the World Series in 2001. Oddly, because of the sweep, the Diamondbacks and Rockies don’t play until Thursday. The pitchers haven’t been announced but I find it hard to believe that it’ll be anyone other then Brandon Webb in that first game.
