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PHOENIX — Philadelphia spent most of the night taking advantage of Arizona’s moves in a bullpen game, building a three-run lead by the seventh inning.

A bullpen meltdown of their own cost the Phillies a chance to take a commanding lead in the NL Championship Series.

Craig Kimbrel gave up three runs in the eighth, including two on pinch-hitter Alek Thomas‘ tying homer into the Chase Field pool, and the Phillies lost 6-5 to the Diamondbacks on Friday to tie the NLCS at 2-all.

“A lot of pitchers look sped up to me,” Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto said. “That’s what happens when you fall behind counts and let baserunners on. The place gets loud, they start feeling the crowd, the atmosphere.”

A night after striking out 13 times in a 2-1 defeat, the reigning NL champions appeared to have the Diamondbacks right where they wanted.

Kyle Schwarber hit a solo homer and Brandon Marsh added a run-scoring double to tie the game at 2. The Phillies scored two runs on an infield single and error in the sixth, and went up 5-2 on Trea Turner’s sacrifice fly in the seventh.

Then it all fell apart.

Phillies manager Rob Thomson was criticized for using Orion Kerkering late in Game 3 after the rookie blew a 1-0 lead.

Thomson sent Kerkering back out for another critical situation in Game 4 and he again struggled, walking two, including Christian Walker with the bases loaded.

“He struggled last couple of nights, but I still have faith in him,” Thomson said. “Maybe he got sped up a little bit, I don’t know. But he wasn’t the only one.”

With his team still leading 5-3, Thomson summoned Kimbrel for the eighth inning instead of waiting for the ninth.

Kimbrel, who had 23 saves in 28 chances during the regular season, struggled with his control before giving up the game-winning hit to Ketel Marte in the ninth inning Thursday.

The right-hander again had trouble locating his pitches in Game 4.

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. led off the eighth with a double and Thomas followed with a two-run homer to tie it 5-all. Kimbrel then gave up a two-out single to Marte and hit Corbin Carroll with a pitch before Gabriel Moreno drove in the go-ahead run with a single off José Alvarado.

“The last two games sucked,” Kimbrel said. “I roll up in here and it cost us two games. The bright side is we are still tied 2-2.”

Philadelphia’s relievers had been sharp most of the season. They compiled a 1.26 ERA during the Division Series against Atlanta and allowed two runs in four innings over the first two NLCS games versus Arizona.

But in Game 4, Gregory Soto, Kerkering, Kimbrel and Alvarado combined to throw strikes on only 25 of 54 pitches while allowing four runs over the final 1 2/3 innings.

“We’ve got to throw strikes,” Thomson said. “Those guys have great stuff. They’ve got to throw it to the zone.”

Paul Sewald closed it out for the Diamondbacks in the ninth, leaving the Phillies searching for late-inning answers heading into Game 5 on Saturday.

The best-of-seven series will shift back to Philadelphia for Game 6 on Monday.

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Michigan star TE Loveland ruled out vs. Trojans

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Michigan star TE Loveland ruled out vs. Trojans

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan star tight end Colston Loveland has been ruled out of Saturday’s game against No. 11 USC with an undisclosed injury.

Loveland suffered an apparent shoulder injury in last weekend’s win over Arkansas State. Michigan coach Sherrone Moore hasn’t specified the nature of the injury.

A preseason All-American, Loveland leads the Wolverines with 19 catches for 187 yards; no other Michigan pass catcher has more than nine receptions.

The No. 18 Wolverines also changed starting quarterbacks this week, moving from Davis Warren to Alex Orji. Warren had thrown six interceptions in three games, including three last weekend. He threw two picks in a 31-12 loss to Texas on Sept. 7.

Orji has only seven career passing attempts but has rushed for 58 yards in a relief role this season.

Moore said this week that he wants to see Orji “take the reins” of the Michigan offense with his opportunity.

“Excited for him,” Moore said. “I know he’s chomping at the bit.”

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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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