This is madness: How to watch the Diamondbacks and Phillies in Game 5 of the NLCS tonight

This is getting ridiculous.

After putting up not much of a fight in the first two games against the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League Championship Series, the Arizona Diamondbacks, with a 6-5 victory, won their second insanely tense game in a row to tie the best-of-seven series at 2-2 on Friday at Chase Field in Phoenix.

This is fantastic baseball, even better TV. But it is not for the faint of heart.

“Ah, there is nothing like this October,” Lauren Shehadi, who hosts the TBS pregame and postgame show, said after the game. “Didn’t we say that last night, too?”

Ah, last night was Thursday night, when Arizona’s Ketel Marte hit a walk-off single to win the game for the Diamondbacks.

And tonight?

“The desert was insane. … The Diamondbacks win one for the ages,” Shehadi said.

What channel is the Diamondbacks game on tonight?

Game 5 of the NLCS is scheduled for 5:07 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 21, at Chase Field. TBS will again broadcast the game; Brian Anderson will call the play-by-play, with Jeff Francoeur and Ron Darling serving as analysts.

But don’t sleep on the pregame show. Along with Shehadi, former players Pedro Martínez, a Hall of Famer and hilarious lunatic on-set; Curtis Granderson; and former Phillies player Jimmy Rollins are a lot of fun.

It’s not “NBA on TNT” with Charles Barkley and company, but it’s not bad. It has a similarly goofy vibe, and it sets the table nicely for the game.

Hey, there's Devin Booker. And no one else

Networks often use playoffs to show off stars in the stands. It can be free publicity for whoever is starring in a show they want to promote (though the ongoing actors’ strike makes that an iffy proposition) or just make it look like the game they’re showing is the cool place to be.

So naturally TBS got in on the act and showed … Devin Booker.

And that was it.

Granted, Booker, the Phoenix Suns star, is important to Turner networks. But isn’t Guy Fieri or someone roaming around Chase Field somewhere?

The Booker bit was funny, at least — he was filming with a camera that looked like something your grandfather would have used to capture a trip to the Grand Canyon in the 1960s.

“Maybe he rented it from Cronkite School at Arizona State,” Anderson said. “Give them your ID?”

“TBS, we’ve got the best cameramen in the world,” Darling said. “We could always use another one. I just don’t think we can meet his rate.”

In 2022 Booker signed a four-year, $224 million contract. So, yeah.

A classy move by TBS to honor Greg Schulte

TBS gave a nice shoutout to Greg Schulte, who was calling the game on the radio for Arizona Sports 98.7 FM. They played video of Marte’s hit on Thursday, with audio of Schulte’s call, and Anderson, Francoeur and Darling all paid tribute as the cameras showed Schulte in the booth on Friday night.

Schulte, who has been the voice of the Diamondbacks since their inception, is retiring after the season ends. But he is happily extending his tenure as Arizona stays alive in the postseason. It was a classy move for a classy guy.

The Arizona heat also continues to fascinate. Anderson made note of it before the game Thursday, and did so again Friday.

“Sweltering hot Friday night in the Arizona desert, temperatures soaring at 102 degrees,” he said just before the game started. Thanks for the reminder that we live in a blast furnace.

No goodbyes: Greg Schulte's retirement delayed by Diamondbacks

Alek Thomas was a hero. Brian Anderson knew it

You can’t accuse Anderson of not getting excited. When Arizona’s Alek Thomas hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning to tie the game, Anderson was … effusive.

“Alek Thomas takes the ride of his life!” he said as Thomas rounded the bases. Later, “Small frame delivers some big pain!”

Then, as the game broadcast gave way to the postgame show, Anderson put a nice little bow on it.

“What a day!” he said. “Baseball is not boring. Baseball is great!”

After Friday night, we would have to agree.

How to watch Diamondbacks vs. Phillies Game 5

Saturday, Oct. 21: Philadelphia at Arizona, Game 5, 5:07 p.m. on TBS.

Monday, Oct. 23: Arizona at Philadelphia, Game 6, 2:07 p.m. on TBS.

Tuesday, Oct. 24: Arizona at Philadelphia, Game 7 (if necessary), 5:07 p.m.

Reach Goodykoontz at bill.goodykoontz@arizonarepublic.com. Facebook: facebook.com/GoodyOnFilm. Twitter: @goodyk. Subscribe to the weekly movies newsletter.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: What time is the Arizona Diamondbacks game today? Here's how to watch