PHOENIX -- The Phillies hadn’t lost in nearly two weeks.

Their last one felt like a momentum killer at the time, at least to people outside Philadelphia’s clubhouse. It wasn’t, which is why the Phillies believe they will rebound from Thursday’s 2-1 walk-off loss to Arizona in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series at Chase Field. Nick Castellanos said after their last loss to Atlanta in Game 2 of the NL Division Series on Oct. 9 at Truist Park that they “thrive after we get punched in the face, man.”

“That was an exclamation point ending in Atlanta, right?” Castellanos said Thursday. “Everybody jumping and cheering on the field. And now this is a walk-off, so …”

So, the Phillies believe they will be fine. They will not have the home crowd behind them the next time they play, like they did in the NLDS. They will not have "Atta boy, Harper” bulletin board material from Orlando Arcia to motivate them, either. But the Phils are not rattled. They are not worried. The dream of an NLCS sweep might be done, but they remain in the driver’s seat. Teams with a 2-1 lead in the history of best-of-seven series have won the series 104 out of 148 times (70 percent).

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The Phillies just need to flush Game 3 and be better in Game 4.

“We already did [flush it],” Brandon Marsh said.

That quick?

“That quick,” he said.

“You don’t have a choice,” Craig Kimbrel said.

“We’re going to have to,” Bryce Harper said. “We’re here at their place.”

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Orion Kerkering allowed the second run of his big league career in the seventh inning to allow the D-backs to tie the game at 1. Kimbrel walked Lourdes Gurriel Jr. to lead off the ninth, then walked Geraldo Perdomo with one out to load the bases. Ketel Marte’s single to center field won it for Arizona.

The Phillies had only three hits in Game 3, their fewest in a game since Sept. 5. They had only one extra-base hit, their fewest in a game since Sept. 30. Those two stats explained the loss as much as anything.

Kyle Schwarber, Trea Turner and Harper entered the game with a combined 1.810 OPS in the first two games of the series and a combined 1.246 OPS for the entire postseason.

Perhaps it is no surprise that they did not see many pitches to hit in Game 3. Schwarber had seen only 10 of 25 pitches in the zone (40 percent) in the first two games of the series. He saw only seven of 19 (36.8 percent) in Game 3. Turner had seen only 13 of 37 pitches in the zone (35.1 percent) in the first two games.

In Game 3, Harper saw only one pitch out of 17 in the zone. He had seen only 11 of 34 (32.4 percent) in the zone in the first two games of the series.

The strategy worked for the D-backs on Thursday, so why wouldn’t they try to make the rest of the Phillies’ lineup beat them again in Games 4 and 5?

“I think just knowing that the guys behind me are going to get the job done and not miss the pitches in the zone,” Harper said, when asked how he can stay patient at the plate. “I got a pitch in the first at-bat. [Brandon Pfaadt] beat me with a heater in the first at-bat. I grounded out. I just can’t miss the ones in the zone, and I just try to take the best I can.”

The Phillies took a 1-0 lead in the seventh when Harper sprinted home from third base on a wild pitch from sidearm reliever Ryan Thompson. The D-backs promptly tied the game in the bottom of the inning when Kerkering allowed a leadoff single to Tommy Pham on an 0-1 sweeper down the middle and a double to Gurriel Jr. on a 1-1 sweeper again over the middle, scoring pinch-runner Alek Thomas from first base to tie the game.

Kerkering then allowed a single to pinch-hitter Pavin Smith to put runners at the corners with no outs.

Enter José Alvarado. He got Emmanuel Rivera to hit a ground ball to Turner, who looked Gurriel back to third before throwing to Bryson Stott at second base. Stott fired to Harper at first for a double play. Alvarado then got Perdomo to ground a ball back to him to end the inning, pumping his fists repeatedly as he left the mound.

It was the type of sequence that would be remembered forever if the Phillies won. They just needed the big hit. It never came.

Cristopher Sánchez will start Game 4 on Friday. He was one of the Phillies’ best pitchers down the stretch, but he hasn’t pitched since Sept. 30 against the Mets. He spoke about his opportunity on Thursday, answering every question in Spanish with the team’s interpreter translating his answers to English.

Except for the last question. That one he answered in English.

“I’ll be ready tomorrow,” he said.