The Arizona Diamondbacks squeezed every last ounce of energy from the 48,003 red-clad fans who infiltrated Chase Field on Wedensday night.
Every single one of them will tell you it was all worth it after the D-backs held off the Colorado Rockies in a wild (pun intended) 11-8 win in the National League Wild Card game.
#ItsAVibe! The @Dbacks advance to the #NLDS! #CLINCHED pic.twitter.com/mfAxM8VOBs
— MLB (@MLB) October 5, 2017
BALLGAME!
The @Dbacks hold off the Rockies & advance to the #NLDS! #MLBonTBS pic.twitter.com/6r860W08oo
— TBS Network (@TBSNetwork) October 5, 2017
Everybody one clap. ? #OurSeason pic.twitter.com/jH0kar1wdp
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) October 5, 2017
The D-backs now head to Los Angeles to take on the Dodgers for the first game of a best-of-five National League Division Series that will begin Friday night.
Here are three big takeaways from the D-backs' win.
1. Goldy breaks out of his slump
Paul Goldschmidt came into Wednesday's game with one of the worst slumps of his career: He didn't earn a hit in his last 17 at-bats. Also, he was 0 for 11 lifetime against the Rockies starting pitcher Jon Gray.
Goldy erased all that by hitting a three-run homer on the first pitch he saw from Gray in the first inning, and it gave the D-backs a lead they would not relinquish.
Crushed it.@Dbacks take an early 3-0 lead behind the bat of Paul Goldschmidt. #WildCard #MLBonTBS pic.twitter.com/WQn7KIgArl
— TBS Network (@TBSNetwork) October 5, 2017
For the game, Goldschmidt went 2 for 5, including a base hit in the eighth inning that ultimately allowed the D-backs to score three insurance runs to stretch an 8-7 lead into an 11-7 advantage heading to the ninth inning.
2. Archie does it all
Archie Bradley received the biggest ovation of any player introduced during pregame introductions. Fans love his energy and passion for the team, not to mention the fact that he's an outstanding pitcher.
Well, Bradley made things happen once again Wednesday -- but at the plate, not at the mound, when he became the first relief pitcher in MLB history to record a triple. Bradley's two-run three-bagger gave the D-backs an 8-5 edge in the seventh inning.
"ARE YOU KIDDING!?!" ?@Dbacks relief pitcher @ArchieBradley7 with a 2-run triple! #WildCard #MLBonTBS pic.twitter.com/q1jlSG9pMY
— TBS Network (@TBSNetwork) October 5, 2017
Bradley might have been a bit too amped up afterwards, as he gave up two runs of his own in the top of the eighth inning. Nonetheless, Bradley's improbable hit (he's a career .098 hitter) was the moment of the night in Chase Field.
3. D-backs break playoff records
Bradley's feat wasn't the only history the D-backs made on Wednesday:
-Shortstop Ketel Marte became the first player in MLB playoff history to hit a left-handed triple AND a right-handed triple in the same game. He was also the first player to hit two triples in a playoff game since 1993.
-The D-backs recorded four triples in a single playoff game for the first time since the Boston Americans -- yes, the Boston Americans -- did so in 1903. Consider: The D-backs have NEVER had four triples in a regular-season game.
-For the first time ever, four different D-backs recorded multiple RBIs in the same playoff game.
#Slaphands #NLWildcard winners pic.twitter.com/EpdFT9q0ac
— FOX Sports Arizona (@FOXSPORTSAZ) October 5, 2017
