Evan Longoria's crucial catch helps give Diamondbacks 1-0 lead - ESPN

MILWAUKEE — Before Game 1 of Arizona's National League wild-card matchup against the Milwaukee Brewers, Diamondbacks veteran Evan Longoria was asked what advice he had about postseason baseball for the numerous young players that have sparked the team's 2023 resurgence.

«A lot of these games are going to come down to one or two big moments,» Longoria said. «We have to be ready and be prepared for those.»

In case Longoria's inexperienced teammates missed the message, he spent Tuesday's series-opening, 6-3 Arizona win providing plenty of examples of what winning the big moment looks like.

Longoria made a lunging, tumbling fifth-inning grab of a Tyrone Taylor line drive that seemed ticketed for left field, snuffing a bases-loaded Brewers bases-loaded rally when he got to his knees and doubled Willy Adames off second base for a twin killing.

«I just kind of jumped and threw my glove up,» Longoria said. «Sometimes those plays, it's just a reaction. Sometimes I don't even jump for those. In that moment, we're just trying to kind of leave it all out on the field.»

The play was the most crucial in an early back-and-forth tussle that settled down after that, allowing an airtight Arizona bullpen to pitch with a lead until the Diamondbacks finally tacked on a couple of insurance runs in the ninth.

Longoria, a 16-year veteran who turns 38 on Saturday, was playing in his 36th career postseason game. But the three-time Gold Glover and All-Star has been more of a role player this season for a breakout Diamondbacks squad led by a wave of young talent, most prominently featuring NL Rookie of the Year frontrunner Corbin Carroll.

Indeed, it was no sure bet that Longoria would draw a Game 1 assignment. He started in just 41 games at the hot