D-backs pumped for Chase Field's raucous atmosphere

PHOENIX -- After wrapping up their regular-season slate at Chase Field on Oct. 1, the D-backs hit the road with no guarantee that they’d be back to play in front of their home crowd this year.

But after taking care of business in the National League Wild Card Series at Milwaukee and winning the first two games of the NL Division Series at Los Angeles, the D-backs are expecting a raucous welcome back to Chase Field, where they’ll attempt to close out the Dodgers in front of a sold-out crowd in Game 3 on Wednesday night.

“I’m excited for it,” right fielder Corbin Carroll said Tuesday. “There were some great crowds in L.A. There were some great crowds in Milwaukee. But doing it in front of home fans is a lot cooler.”

“It's awesome,” added Game 3 starter Brandon Pfaadt. “Anytime Chase sells out, that's good for everybody. I think it's definitely something to look forward to and it should be an awesome experience.”

Chase Field hasn’t hosted postseason baseball since 2017, when the D-backs beat the Rockies, 11-8, in an epic NL Wild Card Game before being swept by the Dodgers in the NLDS. With a commanding 2-0 lead in this best-of-five series, the D-backs will have a chance to return the favor and send the 100-win Dodgers packing early.

Teams up 2-0 in a best-of-five series that won the first two games on the road are 29-3 in those series. The only three teams to come back from 0-2 deficits after losing the first two at home are the 2001 Yankees (vs. A’s), the 2012 Giants (vs. Reds) and the 2015 Blue Jays (vs. Texas).

“We just went into a very hostile territory and it was extremely loud against us, but it will be a little bit different,” D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said. “This crowd is going to be behind us, and we want to play our baseball for them. We want to impress them.”

Lovullo was in his first year at the helm of the D-backs during their last postseason run in 2017, and he vividly remembers the deafening roar from the crowd when Paul Goldschmidt launched a three-run homer in the bottom of the first inning to give Arizona an early lead in the Wild Card Game against Colorado.

“That eruption was probably one of the loudest eruptions I felt on the stadium floor,” Lovullo said. “Hopefully we can do it a few more times tomorrow.”

Carroll has heard stories about the electric atmosphere at Chase Field that day and said he experienced a similar vibe when he attended a World Baseball Classic game here in March.

“From when I got drafted in '19, I've heard multiple times just how loud Chase was and how cool it was to see Chase in that way,” Carroll said. “And then going to the World Baseball Classic this year, I think it was the USA-Mexico one I was able to attend, some of our front-office people said this is what it was like in '17. That makes me excited to see Arizona excited about baseball like that.”

The D-backs, who went 43-38 at home during the regular season, ranked 20th in the Majors in attendance in 2023, but Wednesday’s sellout is a sign that the Phoenix community is eager to throw its support behind the club as it looks to clinch its first NL Championship Series berth since 2007.

“Fans have not had a home postseason game since 2017,” D-backs team president/CEO Derrick Hall said. “There is a tremendous amount of excitement throughout the state for this team, as evidenced by a quick sellout. I am grateful to the fans, as they have shown up all season to support this energetic group of players.”

The ceremonial first pitches will be thrown out by D-backs general manager Mike Hazen’s four sons -- 17-year-old Charlie, 16-year-old John, 15-year-old Teddy and 13-year-old Sam -- in honor of their mother, Nicole, who passed away in August 2022 from glioblastoma.