Thursday afternoon the National League Championship Series continues with Game 3 at Chase Field. The Philadelphia Phillies won Games 1 and 2 at Citizens Bank Park and have a 2-0 series lead over the Arizona Diamondbacks. Historically, teams with a 2-0 lead in a best-of-seven have gone on to win the series 84% of the time.
Games 3 and 4, and, if necessary, Game 5 will be played in Arizona. The Phillies must win two of the next three to do something every team dreams of doing in October: have a post-clinch pool party at Chase Field. The D-backs celebrated their Division Series win over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the pool. You can be sure the Phillies are planning a pool party for their potential clincher.
“I’ve seen that pool before, so I know exactly where it is,” Phillies backup catcher Garrett Stubbs told the Philadelphia Inquirer earlier this week. “If we take two here against Arizona, we’ll be bee-lining it for the water.”
Earlier this month D-backs president Derrick Hall said they will not stand in the way of an opposing team’s pool party because they “have the right to celebrate wherever they want, however they want.” That is a total reversal for Hall, who called the Dodgers classless for celebrating in the pool 2013. The D-backs even had mounted police guard the pool in 2017.
“We’re a respectful bunch of guys,” Stubbs told the Philadelphia Inquirer. “We wouldn’t do it if it was a disrespectful thing.”
Of course, Stubbs and the Phillies are getting a bit ahead of themselves. As good as Philadelphia looked in Games 1 and 2, and as good as they’ve looked all postseason, the D-backs are a very good team and could easily win two of three at home. Stubbs may have just given Arizona some bulletin board material. That’s never a great idea.
The Phillies will sent lefty Ranger Suárez to the mound in Game 3 on Thursday. He has 1.16 ERA in seven career postseason games. The D-backs will start rookie righty Brandon Pfaadt in what essentially amounts to a must-win Game 3.
