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“And a pleasant good afternoon to you wherever you may be,” Vin Scully might’ve said, his voice warm and unhurried, the desert sun shining over Chase Field. “From the Valley of the Sun, we have ourselves a ballgame that may just have breathed a little life back into the Arizona Diamondbacks.”
After dropping the first two games of the National League Championship Series, Arizona needed something—anything—to turn the tide. And on this day, they got it. Behind the left arm of Alex Flores and the timely hitting of a lineup that looked as loose as it has all October, the Diamondbacks beat the mighty Milwaukee Brewers, 7 to 3.
Flores wasn’t overpowering, but he was poised—five and a third innings, just three hits, and the calm of a man mowing his own lawn. He handed the game to his bullpen, and they did the rest, shutting the door quietly but firmly.
The first inning set the tone. With the bases loaded and the crowd humming, Tony Flores—a man with a name made for the moment—lashed a two-run double down the line in right. That made it 2–0, and the fans rose as one, sensing that maybe, just maybe, this series wasn’t over yet.
There was thunder too—a home run from young J. Gonzalez in the third, a majestic drive from A. Montes an inning later. Ten hits, seven runs, and for the first time all week, Arizona looked like the team that had battled their way here.
Milwaukee, for their part, looked human. J. Giambalvo, so steady all year, never found his rhythm. The Brewers scratched together a few runs, a double here, a stolen base there, but nothing that could stem the tide.
As the final out settled into P. Jackson’s glove, you could almost hear Vin pause, smile, and say, “And so the Diamondbacks, down two games to none, remind us once again that in baseball—as in life—it isn’t over until it’s over.”
Tomorrow, they’ll do it again at Chase Field. And if the sound of the crowd tonight is any indication, the desert isn’t done dreaming just yet.
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