PHILADELPHIA - Alec Bohm turned around after going down on strikes in the eighth inning on Tuesday and shattered the handle of his bat after slamming it on the ground while walking back to the dugout.
It was that type of night for the Phillies.
Philadelphia had multiple opportunities to overcome an early deficit but instead finished 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base while conceding Game 7 of the National League Championship Series to the Diamondbacks at Citizens Bank Park, 4-2.
"I don't feel stunned, I feel frustrated," Nick Castellanos said. "I think that we underachieved as a team. Obviously, we have to give credit to the Diamondbacks, but this is a frustrating way for the season to end.
"It's a disgusting feeling, honestly."
Castellanos was one of the coldest bats in the Phils' lineup entering Tuesday, having just one hit over 20 at-bats in the NLCS. He finished the evening 0-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts.
The top three hitters in the order in Kyle Schwarber, Trea Turner, and Bryce Harper didn't fare much better, finishing a combined 1-for-11 on the night as a Schwarber double in the fifth was the lone hit.
"They pitched those guys really well, and that's the ebbs and flows of offense," said manager Rob Thomson. "People aren't going to hit every single day of the season. It's just not going to happen. Other guys got to pick it up. Other guys got to get it done, and you have to pass the baton and move people up and get people on base and put pressure on people.
"We had some people on base tonight. We couldn't get the big hit."
Ranger Suarez weaved in and out of trouble, surrendering three runs on six hits over 4 2/3 innings. He wasn't dominant, but he kept the Phillies in the game.
The Phillies hadn't surrendered a first inning run all postseason until Corbin Carroll scampered across the plate on a Christian Walker fielder's choice.
Bohm evened things in the second, launching a Brandon Pfaadt 93-mph fastball into the seats in left. It was his first homer since Oct. 1. He'd score again in the fourth, working a lead-off walk before crossing the plate on a Brandon Stott double.
The Diamondbacks answered back in the fifth with Gabriel Moreno delivering the highlight of a two-run frame, pushing across Carroll who reached via a single and advanced on a stolen base.
Arizona added an insurance run in the seventh on a Carroll sac fly to right. He finished the night 3-for-5 with two stolen bases, two runs scored, and two RBIs.
Harper had an opportunity to create another iconic memory in the seventh with two runners on, drilling a Kevin Ginkel fastball to the warning track in center. The ball had an exit velocity of 107.6 mph and traveled 330 feet.
“Got a heater and just missed it,” Harper said. “He threw me the pitch I wanted. I went 2-1 and he threw me a heater, and I just … man, just not being able to come through in that moment just devastates me personally. I feel like I let my team down and let the city of Philadelphia down as well. That’s a moment I feel like I need to come through."
The loss capped off a disastrous series for the Phillies. The club entered as sizeable favorites and took a commanding 2-0 lead before the series shifted to Phoenix. The Phillies then dropped three of the final four games, including Games 6 and 7 at home, to cap off an unsuccessful defense of the National League pennant.
"It is disappointing, but it's tough to get back to this position two years in a row," Thomson said. "It is. But they fought like hell to get here, and we came up short.
"That's baseball sometimes."