Phillies’ Rob Thomson explains his decision not to use Jose Alvarado in key moment of Game 4

PHOENIX — Of all the pitching moves in Game 4 — and there were a lot — the one that loomed largest for Phillies manager Rob Thomson was the one he hesitated to make.

Why wasn’t lefty José Alvarado brought in to face Corbin Carroll in the eighth inning?

”Just because really we were trying to not use Alvarado if we absolutely could stay away from him,” Thomson said after the game Friday night.

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To recap: Craig Kimbrel gave up the game-tying home run to pinch-hitter Alek Thomas, then put the go-ahead run on base when Ketel Marte rifled a single to left field. Up stepped Carroll, the Diamondbacks’ best left-handed hitter and presumptive National League Rookie of the Year.

Thomson stuck with Kimbrel, who hit Carroll on the thigh with a first pitch. From there, he turned to Alvarado, who gave up an RBI single to Gabriel Moreno to put the Diamondbacks ahead in a 6-5 victory that evened the series at two games apiece.

Alvarado was warming in the bullpen as Carroll came to the plate. Before the series, Thomson said the Phillies wanted to match him up on Carroll. But like Kimbrel and fellow relievers Orion Kerkering and Jeff Hoffman, Alvarado pitched one night earlier. The teams play again Saturday night, marking the first time in the postseason that the Phillies have played three nights in a row.

Asked before Game 4 if he would hold back a reliever to be rested for Game 5, Thomson said, “Not necessarily, I think, if the game is on the line.” If anything, he said he’d be inclined to use Alvarado for one inning plus one batter rather than two innings.

It’s doubtful that Kimbrel (45 total pitches in Games 3-4) or Kerkering, who never before pitched on back-to-back days, will be available for Game 5. Surely, the Phillies will lean on starter Zack Wheeler to pitch deep into the game.

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But Alvarado wound up throwing only six pitches in Game 4, which may keep him in play to pitch a third day in a row. It’s possible lefty Matt Strahm could also get late-inning outs in Game 5. And Thomson indicated that Game 3 starter Ranger Suárez may be available out of the bullpen two days after throwing 69 pitches, a move that could take him out of consideration for starting a possible Game 7.

”We’re certainly not going to put people in jeopardy, but this is a tough group,” Thomson said. “They want to play.”