ARLINGTON, Texas — The Rangers beat the Diamondbacks 6–5 on an Adolis García walk-off homer in a dramatic, 11-inning, Game 1 of the World Series on Friday. These teams seem to be fairly evenly matched, so any of several factors could mean the difference in Saturday’s Game 2.
Strength vs. Strength
Rangers lefty Jordan Montgomery was an unremarkable starter over parts of six seasons with the Yankees and a bit better over close to a calendar year with the Cardinals, but since he arrived in Arlington at this year’s trade deadline, he has pitched like an ace. He had a 2.79 ERA and threw strikes 64% of the time over the last two months of the regular season, and he has been even better in October: a 2.16 ERA and 65% strikes, against stronger competition. He has made four starts and gotten seven outs in relief in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series.
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He does not have elite fastball velocity—his 93.3 mph four-seamer ranks in the 38th percentile—but he does have excellent command and an excellent sinker, which he has begun throwing much more often and more consistently high in the zone. That’s an unusual profile, but one Diamondback in particular seems well suited to it: First baseman Christian Walker, who is batting .167 this postseason, hit .400 on such pitches this year.
Running Wild
The Diamondbacks stole 166 bases in the regular season, second in baseball, but only stole one in the National League Wild Card Series and five in the National League Division Series. Then they did not even attempt a steal in the first two games of the National League Championship Series. “We have to get that figured out,” manager Torey Lovullo said before Game 3. Well, they stole nine the rest of the way. An important question for the World Series was whether they would keep up that pace.
Arizona stole four bases in Game 1, marking the fifth time in the last 30 years that a team has swiped that many in a World Series game. (The last four were the 2019 Astros in Game 3 against the Nationals, the ’16 Cubs in Game 5 against Cleveland, the ’15 Royals in Game 5 against the Mets and the ’08 Rays in Game 3 against the Phillies.) And Eovaldi holds runners pretty well; Montgomery is less good. He will have to try to contain the Snakes on the bases.
Marc Our Words
The great Sam Miller once said that every player is either hot or due. In that case, Rangers second baseman Marcus Semien is seconds away from breaking out. From April through September this year, Semien led the American League in wins above replacement by a position player, with 7.4; was an All-Star; and led the AL in hits, with 185. In the playoffs he’s hitting .190. Surely this can’t continue … right?
