Alek Thomas believes Diamondbacks still have a chance to turn things over, says team has been in this situation before
The Arizona Diamondbacks have their backs against the wall once again as they look to avoid a loss in the NLCS. The Dbacks lost Game 5 to the Philadelphia Phillies and are on the brink of elimination. Yet outfielder Alek Thomas believes there is fight left in the tank for his team.
Thomas is in his first full season in the MLB. The 23-year-old made his debut in May of last year. He is the son of the former Director of strength and conditioning of the Chicago White Sox, Allen Thomas, who served the organization from 1995 to 2022.
Alek Thomas has been crucial to Arizona's success this postseason, particularly this series. His two-run game-tying home run in the eighth inning in Game 4 of the series gave the Dbacks the much-needed impetus to go on and win the game.
Even on Saturday, Thomas was the only shining light in a dull Arizona offense. He homered for the second night in a row coming to the plate in the seventh innings. His blast cut down the Phillies' lead to 4-1 but with no other contributions, the Dbaks fell short on the night.
Despite the loss, Thomas is carrying a lot of optimism as the series moves back to Philadelphia for the final two games.
"All the confidence in the world. I think we always believe in ourselves since day 1 so this isn't anything new for us. We have been in this situation before where we have been down in the regular season. I know it's going to be tough two games in Philly but I believe in these guys and we're never gonna give up," Thomas said after the game (via Arizona Sports).
Diamondbacks need to repeat 2003 World Series comeback
In just their fourth year in the MLB as a franchise, the Diamondbacks had scripted history by winning the World Series against the much fancied New York Yankees dynasty. Even in that series, they were 3-2 down and came back to win the last two games.
The Arizona Diamondbacks will be required to pull off a similar feat in this one if they have to make it to their second-ever World Series, twenty years later.