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PHOENIX — A funny thing happened along the way to a Philadelphia Phillies repeat as pennant winners: The Arizona Diamondbacks decided to make a series of their best-of-seven matchup with the defending NL champs. On Friday, the self-anointed “Answerbacks” tied the NLCS at 2-2 with a thrilling 6-5 win, one night after they beat Philadelphia 2-1 in a walk-off.

A team dismissed as a year ahead of schedule, with a home crowd that was never supposed to be able to match the chaos at Citizens Bank Park, has turned the narrative upside down by winning Games 3 and 4 at Chase Field, stunning the veteran-laden Phillies in the process. Arizona is no longer here for pundits’ fodder.

“I’m tired of that narrative that we’re lucky to be here,” manager Torey Lovullo said after their latest win. “I want everybody to know that we don’t feel like it, and hopefully they’re starting to change their mind as well.”

How many come-from-behind wins does it take to believe? Arizona has done it four times this postseason, including the past two nights.

On Thursday, Ketel Marte gave the D-backs the first walk-off of the entire season when he knocked a bases-loaded single — his third hit of the game — off Craig Kimbrel in the ninth inning.

Friday’s star, outfielder Alek Thomas, perfectly symbolizes a team grinding its way through the postseason. In May he was sent to the minors for a month when he was batting just .195/.252/.327 in his first 39 games. He returned in June with a new focus, and four months later helped win Game 4 with a pinch-hit home run off … Kimbrel in the eighth. And that not-so-raucous crowd has been anything but the past two days. After all, the Diamondbacks are giving them plenty to cheer about.

“In the [indoor] cage as I was getting ready to hit, it wasn’t looking too good,” Thomas said during the pandemonium after the game Friday. “I was missing everything.”

But like his team itself this October, he came through at the right moment. It’s what veteran third baseman Evan Longoria has been preaching to his young teammates.

“These playoff series are about getting the big hit when you need it,” he said. “Everyone on this roster has been ready for their opportunity when they’ve gotten it.”

They’ve needed just about everyone on the roster. With a thin starting staff heading into Game 4, Lovullo pushed nearly every button perfectly, using up most of his bullpen to pull out the win. And even with the designated hitter in play, he has used pinch hitters liberally: five times in the four games. That keeps everyone ready and inherently makes the wins a little sweeter.

“We have a group of guys that believe in each other and believe in ourselves,” outfielder Corbin Carroll said. “We have full confidence in that next-man-up mentality.”

On some teams, that would sound like a cliché, but for the Diamondbacks it’s been proved several times this postseason. A win in Game 5 on Saturday would ease the burden of returning to Philadelphia to capture two victories in a hostile environment in which they’ve lost twice. But taking one of two seems like a simpler task. And now a possible one.

But first things first. Both teams will have their No.1 going in Game 5 as Zac Gallen and Zack Wheeler will repeat the Game 1 matchup. It’ll be a far cry from the bullpen madness of the night before. Lovullo made a plea to his fan base, which has woken up just like his team.

“We got one more here [Saturday], and we feel it,” Lovullo said. “We don’t necessarily have that during the year, but we want it, and we know that we’ve got to go out there and earn their trust back. And hopefully when we do things like this, the baseball world sees that the Arizona Diamondbacks are a damn good baseball team.

“We’re in the middle of a journey. It’s a three-game series. We’re not going to lose focus. We are going to keep that competitive edge and that competitive focus. I can guarantee you that.”

Even Lovullo’s counterpart is having to answer for the upstart Diamondbacks. Phillies manager Rob Thomson knows his team has lost the momentum gained in their two wins at home. Those victories seem like eons ago, not just a few days.

“They’re scrappy,” Thomson said. “I said that at the start of the series. They’re a good team. They can do a lot of different things. They can put pressure on you. You have to alleviate that pressure by throwing strikes, not giving them extra outs, and handling the baseball on defense.”

Philadelphia did none of those things in Game 4. It sets up a critical Game 5, with one team looking to refind its mojo — and another seeing how far it can ride the wave.

“We still have a lot of work left to do but I thought coming home and winning these two [games] kind of relit the fire, relit the belief for us,” Longoria said. “It was stomped out of us a little in Philly.

“It’s back.”

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Sources: Nats demote All-Star after all-nighter

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Sources: Nats demote All-Star after all-nighter

The Washington Nationals demoted All-Star shortstop CJ Abrams to the minor leagues after he stayed out all night at a Chicago-area casino, leaving only hours before a Friday day game against the Chicago Cubs, sources told ESPN’s Jesse Rogers.

The 23-year-old Abrams led off for the Nationals and went 0 for 3 with a walk and strikeout in Friday’s game, which started at 1 p.m. CT. He was informed of the demotion Friday night, sources said. He will be sent to West Palm Beach, home of the Nationals’ minor league complex.

Because Abrams has been with Washington for the entirety of the season, the demotion will not affect his service time. Players earn a full year of service with 172 days on the major league roster, and Abrams already has exceeded that threshold.

Abrams could, however, file a grievance through the Major League Baseball Players Association to fight for lost pay if he believes the demotion unjust. He would lose around $30,000 of his $752,000 salary for missing the season’s final week. Abrams will be arbitration-eligible this winter, entering the system for the first of four times as a Super 2.

Acquired as one of the centerpieces of the Juan Soto trade two years ago, Abrams parlayed a breakout first-half into an All-Star selection, hitting .268/.343/.489 with 15 home runs and 15 stolen bases over the Nationals’ first 89 games. He struggled significantly in the second half, slashing .203/.260/.326, and Abrams’ defense has been a weakness throughout the season.

Still, the Nationals did not intend to send him to the minor leagues until they learned of his time spent at the casino, which was first reported Friday by CHGO.

“I just want it to be known it wasn’t performance-based,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez told reporters Saturday. “It’s an internal issue. I’m not going to give specifics.”

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Clemson DE Woods (leg) sidelined vs. NC State

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Clemson DE Woods (leg) sidelined vs. NC State

CLEMSON, S.C. — Clemson defensive end Peter Woods will not play for the 21st-ranked Tigers against NC State on Saturday because of a leg injury.

The team announced Woods’ status about 90 minutes before kickoff. Woods, 6-foot-3, 315 pounds, got hurt two weeks ago on a chop block below the knee in a 66-20 victory over App State. Woods came back in briefly after getting checked then missed the second half.

The Tigers were off last weekend.

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney has said Woods’ playing status was day-to-day. Swinney said Woods had not missed a practice. But Woods came out to the field for warmups in sneakers and sweatpants while other defensive linemen went through drills.

Woods leads the Tigers with 2½ tackles for loss.

Third-year sophomore Jahiem Lawson is listed as Woods’ backup on the depth chart.

NC State will be without starting quarterback Grayson McCall, who was hurt last week in a win over Louisiana Tech. Freshman CJ Bailey started for the Wolfpack.

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Sources: Utah QB Rising (hand) game-time call

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Sources: Utah QB Rising (hand) game-time call

Utah quarterback Cam Rising is a game-time decision with an injury to his throwing hand, sources told ESPN, with the expectation that he will attempt to start.

No. 12 Utah plays at No. 14 Oklahoma State on Saturday, one of the biggest games of the season in the Big 12.

Rising has been limited in practice this week with the injury, and he is not expected to be 100% if he does play. He will be monitored closely to see how his injured fingers impact how he throws. The fingers play a huge role in both spin and velocity, which will impact his effectiveness in the passing game.

He injured his hand Sept. 7 against Baylor in the second quarter when he threw a ball away and was pushed out of bounds and landed awkwardly on the water coolers on the Bears sideline.

Rising warmed up with a glove on his hand before last week’s game against Utah State but did not play, and he was spotted with two fingers wrapped on the sideline against Baylor. It’s uncertain if he will use the glove on Saturday.

Utah’s offense plays a majority of its snaps under center and uses clapping as a mechanism in its snapping operation, which would both stress the fingers.

Backup quarterback Isaac Wilson is a true freshman who made his first career start against Utah State, going 20-of-33 passing for 239 yards and three touchdowns. He took first-team reps in practice this week when Rising wasn’t out there.

Wilson is the brother of former BYU quarterback Zach Wilson, who now plays in the NFL for the Denver Broncos.

Rising is a seventh-year senior who had emerged as one of the Pac-12’s top quarterbacks in 2021 and 2022. He has been snakebit by injuries in recent seasons, as an injury in the Rose Bowl following the 2022 season ultimately led to him missing the entire 2023 season.

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