The Philadelphia Phillies bullpen blew a late lead in a heartbreaking 6-5 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday night, evening the National League Championship Series at two games apiece.
The Phillies had a 5-4 lead heading into the bottom of the ninth inning, but the Diamondbacks rallied for two runs off reliever Ryan Madson to take the lead and the win. Madson allowed a leadoff single to Stephen Drew, then gave up a double to Chris Young that put runners on second and third. After an intentional walk to Mark Reynolds loaded the bases, Madson allowed a game-tying sacrifice fly to Justin Upton and then a game-winning single to Chris Snyder.
The Phillies had taken the lead in the top of the ninth inning when Ryan Howard hit a solo home run off Diamondbacks closer Chad Qualls. Howard’s blast was his second homer of the game and gave the Phillies a 5-4 lead.
The Phillies had taken a 4-2 lead in the sixth inning when Chase Utley hit a two-run homer off Diamondbacks starter Dan Haren. The Phillies had taken an early 2-0 lead in the first inning on Howard’s solo homer and a sacrifice fly by Jayson Werth.
The loss was a tough one for the Phillies, who had been in control of the game for most of the night. The Phillies will now have to regroup and try to take back control of the series when they host Game 5 on Sunday night.
