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PHOENIX — Slugging and running their way to within one victory of a return trip to the World Series, the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-1 on Saturday night in Game 5 of the NLCS to take a 3-2 series lead.

Game 6 is scheduled for Monday night in Philadelphia, where the Phillies are 6-0 this postseason.

“I think we’ll be in a good position,” Phillies starter Zack Wheeler, the winning pitcher Saturday, said after the game. “But we can’t think ahead too much. We have to play the game on Monday and get back to Philly, where we like to play.”

Slugger Bryce Harper set the tone for Game 5, stealing home in the first inning, then hitting a 444-foot home run in the sixth. He joined Randy Arozarena as the only players in postseason history to steal home and hit a home run in the same game.

“We’re going to be aggressive right here,” Harper said.” Bryson [Stott] had the green light. He went, and I just tried to make the best decision to get there and make it happen to score that run.”

It came after Kyle Schwarber had already crossed the plate with the game’s first run. Arizona starter Zac Gallen was more careful in the opening inning Saturday than he was in Game 1, when Schwarber and Harper homered off him. This time, Schwarber got to first on an infield single before Harper singled him to second and Stott’s single brought him home. That put runners on first and third with JT Realmuto at the plate.

That’s when Harper took off.

“I knew he was going to go,” Stott said of Harper. “It’s the postseason and Gallen is really good over there and you don’t know how many chances you’re going to get.”

Diamondbacks catcher Gabriel Moreno threw down to second as Harper took off for home. The throw back from shortstop Geraldo Perdomo short-hopped Moreno, who got barreled by Harper at the plate.

“Baseball play,” Harper said. “Big collision at the plate. I was making sure he was OK. Kind of the way he went down, I was making sure he was good and stable. Never want those moments or anybody to get hurt. But just a good position to put us in and be able to get up in that situation.”

Moreno stayed in the game after being attended to by the Diamondbacks’ training staff.

With the finesse part of their game over, the Phillies went to work on the slugging. Gallen kept them in the park until the sixth, when Schwarber destroyed a baseball, sending it 461 feet into the right-field stands. Two batters later, Harper left the yard as well, belting it 444 feet from home plate. The rout was on as Realmuto added a blast one inning later.

The homers helped trigger a bunch of milestones.

  • The Phillies are the sixth team all-time with at least 15 homers and 15 stolen bases in a single postseason.

  • With three home runs in Game 5, the Phillies have 23 home runs this postseason, the second-most all-time through 11 games of a postseason (24 by 2004 Astros).

  • Schwarber is just the fifth player ever to reach 20 career postseason home runs. He got there in 63 games, the fastest in history.

  • Harper and Schwarber have combined for 22 homers in the past two postseasons (11 each). That is the most combined homers by a duo over a two-year span in MLB playoff history.

The offense backed Wheeler, who once again dominated his postseason opposition. On a night when the Phillies’ bullpen wasn’t fully available, Wheeler pitched seven innings, giving up six hits while striking out eight and giving up one run — a solo shot by Alek Thomas.

Wheeler helped bring down the team’s starter ERA this postseason to 1.48, lowest all-time out of a rotation through the first 11 playoff games.

“I told him after the game, ‘You’re one of the best pitchers I’ve ever played with,'” Harper said of Wheeler. “I’ve played with a lot of good ones, and he’s easily top three.”

Wheeler appreciated the sentiment as well as the offensive support. Meanwhile, Schwarber downplayed his accomplishments, claiming he’ll “appreciate it” when he’s done playing baseball.

That doesn’t mean his teammates can’t enjoy his superhuman strength.

“He’s country strong,” Harper said. “It’s incredible. Just the way he goes and the way he swings. He uses that lower half so well. He drives through the ground. Whenever you’re able to put your feet in the ground and stay grounded, it’s incredible.”

Gallen was left wondering how exactly to shut down these Phillies. He challenged them early in Game 1, and that didn’t work out. On Saturday, he went more off-speed in the first inning and they still scored two runs. Later, he went back to the fastball, and two of them were blasted into the Chase Field crowd, who were subdued after two nights of exhilarating wins by the home team.

“The thing about Harper and Schwarber is, those guys are so intelligent,” Gallen said. “They’ve been around. You’ve got to hope you’re one step ahead of them. It’s hard. And them being able to leave the yard at any point is what makes it even harder.

“It’s wild. Solo homers don’t beat you, but a team that hits solo homers a lot, they tend to add up after a while.”

The Phillies have hit 10 home runs in this series alone and now return home with a one game cushion after getting a scare by the Diamondbacks in their building. Coming off losses in Games 3 and 4, Philadelphia got everything they wanted in a Game 5 win. Now they’re one game away from the Fall Classic.

“It was a great response,” Schwarber said.

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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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