PHILADELPHIA \u2014 The entire Diamondbacks<\/a> team had departed the field and Kyle Schwarber<\/a> stood there, alone at second base in the middle of the seventh inning, and this is when it felt too real. The hulking slugger had tried to do too much \u2014 take 90 feet while trailing by four runs \u2014 and he paid for it. It was 7:36 p.m. ET and some people decided it was time to leave a ballpark that has achieved legend-like status in October.<\/p>\n A replay review of Schwarber\u2019s mistake took less than a minute. Then, Citizens Bank Park turned dark to signal Craig Kimbrel<\/a>\u2019s entrance as a mop-up man, and boos greeted him. The vibes were extinguished.<\/p>\n The two most terrifying words for a team that lost Game 6 at home: Game Seven.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s going to be exciting,\u201d Schwarber said after a 5-1 loss<\/a>. \u201cThis is what you play for. Obviously, it sucks, right? You wish you got it done today. Absolutely. But it\u2019s an exciting thing. We\u2019re embracing it. We\u2019re in this spot. We deserve to be in this spot. We have a chance to play our best game tomorrow and move on to the World Series.\u201d<\/p>\n Really, in this city, no one knows what Game 7 will feel like. The Phillies<\/a> have existed for 141 seasons and they have never played a Game 7. Their opponent in this National League Championship Series hails from a place that became a state in 1912. The Phillies have been around since 1883.<\/p>\n They looked for omens before Monday\u2019s Game 6 began. It had been one year to the day since Bryce Harper took the swing of his life<\/a> and propelled the Phillies into the World Series. But, 30 years ago Monday, the Phillies lost the most heartbreaking Game 6 in the club\u2019s history when Joe Carter took a fateful swing<\/a>. This time, at least, there will be a Game 7.<\/p>\n This franchise is littered with agony, and that is why a Game 7 \u2014 in these circumstances \u2014 will generate the darkest feelings. It\u2019s only natural. This is the Phillies. They opened the door to pain.<\/p>\n But they aren\u2019t done yet. How does the first Game 7 in franchise history sound?<\/p>\n \u201cIt sounds like a lot of fun,\u201d Nick Castellanos<\/a> said. \u201cWhat a great opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n This is what Schwarber, one of the few Phillies to play in a Game 7, will talk about in the 24 hours between his team losing Game 6 and Ranger Su\u00e1rez<\/a>\u2019s first pitch of Game 7. The nerves can be channeled, Schwarber said, and it\u2019s best not to ignore them. Use the energy in productive ways.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not going to be everyone trying to do so much,\u201d Schwarber said. \u201cThat\u2019s going to be the message: Don\u2019t try to do too much. Right? Don\u2019t let anything dictate how you feel. Just go in there, take one pitch at a time. Take it an out at a time. That\u2019s what tomorrow\u2019s going to be. You know what? It\u2019s going to be an exciting game. We\u2019re all looking forward to it.\u201d<\/p>\n But, in Game 6, the Phillies looked like a team that let the situation dictate their play. They stacked uncompetitive at-bats together. They swung at the first pitch in 15 of their 35 plate appearances, but it\u2019s been trending that way all series. These are the first-pitch swings game-by-game in the NLCS: 12, 10, 10, 15, 14, 15. The Phillies mustered one extra-base hit in Game 6 \u2014 a second-inning double by J.T. Realmuto<\/a>. He scored the only run when Brandon Marsh<\/a> singled to right.<\/p>\n Rob Thomson will not change his lineup for Game 7. \u201cZero,\u201d Thomson said, when asked if he\u2019d consider anything different. This is how the Phillies manager is: An alteration, even the slightest, might be perceived as panic before Game 7. Early in Game 6, Diamondbacks starter Merrill Kelly<\/a> did not offer Schwarber or Harper much to hit. Is it hard to stay patient when the pressure rises to score runs?<\/p>\n \u201cAbsolutely not,\u201d Schwarber said. \u201cNo. I\u2019ll take four walks tomorrow if I can. We\u2019ve got trust in the guys behind us. That\u2019s plain and simple. This offense, it\u2019s so deep. If we get guys on base, if we get traffic on base, I\u2019ll take our chances with anyone up there at the plate.\u201d<\/p>\n Alec Bohm<\/a> has failed for much of this series, but he was one of the few Phillies who found a hole in Game 6. He collected two opposite-field singles. He\u2019ll hit fourth again in Game 7. If Castellanos generated confidence right now, he could move into the cleanup spot. But he is hitless in his last 19 at-bats with nine strikeouts. Realmuto could flip spots with Bohm, but the Phillies used Realmuto as the No. 4 hitter only eight times during the season and doing so Tuesday would look desperate in Thomson\u2019s view.<\/p>\n It\u2019s all superfluous now. The club\u2019s stars will win or lose Game 7 no matter what the arranged order is.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a game of inches,\u201d Castellanos said, \u201cor whatever is smaller than inches.\u201d<\/p>\n Here, at Citizens Bank Park, the margins have always felt bigger. Almost fairy-tale-like. The Phillies had not lost here this month. When Aaron Nola<\/a> allowed three runs in the span of nine second-inning pitches, it represented the Phillies\u2019 largest deficit of this entire postseason.<\/p>\n The mood shifted.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was considerably more quiet for those middle innings when I think things can get really ramped up here,\u201d Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said. \u201cBut once they get somebody on base or they score a run, it picks up again.\u201d<\/p>\n But the Phillies didn\u2019t do that. They didn\u2019t make Arizona\u2019s top relievers throw stressful pitches in Game 6. They avoided using their own best relievers, so the bullpen is fresh for Game 7<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\n Brandon Marsh singled in the second to drive in a run and then took second base. But the Phillies offense was blanked the rest of the way. (Bill Streicher \/ USA Today)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/cdn.theathletic.com\/app\/uploads\/2023\/10\/23225047\/USATSI_21718970-scaled.jpg\")
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\n Alec Bohm had two hits in Game 6. He will remain in the cleanup spot for Game 7. (Bill Streicher \/ USA Today)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i3.wp.com\/cdn.theathletic.com\/app\/uploads\/2023\/10\/23225945\/USATSI_21718222-scaled.jpg\")
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\n The top of the order \u2014 Kyle Schwarber, Trea Turner and Bryce Harper \u2014 went 0-for-9 in Game 6. (Bill Streicher \/ USA Today)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n