Final thoughts
Sometimes World Series Game 1 can be a bit of a disappointment, particularly coming after both the ALCS and NLCS went the full seven games. Needless to say this was not one of those games. While García is obviously the biggest winner but some credit should go to the Rangers bullpen for managing to hold the Diamondbacks scoreless after Eovaldi had a rare bad postseason game.
Tomorrow, or “later today” here in the East Coast, the Rangers are scheduled to start Jordan Montgomery and Arizona is planning to go with Merrill Kelly. We’ll be back here covering it for the Guardian, we hope that you will join us. Until then, thanks to everybody for following along with us throughout this wild Game 1, especially those of you who send in your thoughts. Ciao!
García’s walk-off
If you’re wondering what García’s home run looked like. Well, it went something like this. In fact, exactly like this.
THAT BALL IS GONE!!! ADOLIS GARCIA WALKS IT OFF FOR THE RANGERS IN THE 11TH 🤯😱
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) October 28, 2023
📺: FOX | #WorldSeries pic.twitter.com/BmL8LIG5nM
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The Texas Rangers have come back from a two-run deficit in the 9th inning to beat the Arizona Diamondbacks in extra innings! Texas has a 1-0 World Series lead and Adolis García is furthering his postseason legacy!
Walk-off home run! (García), Diamondbacks 5-6 Rangers, FINAL
García is now up with one out and nobody on. Castro’s first pitch is so wide that it inspires a “just a bit outside” commentary from the announcers. The next pitch is closer but not close enough. 2-0. García, a bit overeager, swings and misses. He really wants to end this one right here.
The next pitch is outside. The next pitch is… HAMMERED! That one is out of there and García has won Game 1 of the World Series on a walk-off home run in extra innings!
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Diamondbacks 5-5 Rangers, bottom 11th
Nelson is back out there for one more batter, this time it happens to be Evan Carter. Nelson gets ahead of Carter 1-2 before Carter takes a ball and then flies out on a slider high in the zone. One out and it looks like it’s Miguel Castro time for Arizona.
That is a stat. Also: the Diamondbacks won their first World Series despite this!
The Diamondbacks have played in 4 World Series road games in franchise history.
— Palmer Black (@PalmerBlackPHX) October 28, 2023
They have allowed a game-tying 2-run home run in the bottom of the 9th 3 times.
Diamondbacks 5-5 Rangers, top 11th
Quick work on Thomas, who pops up to Jung in foul ground. The Rangers have another opportunity to walk it off here at the bottom of the 11th.
Diamondbacks 5-5 Rangers, top 11th
Gurriel is up next. He gets him to strikeout on five pitches. That’s just 23 pitches for Leclerc.
Diamondbacks 5-5 Rangers, top 11th
Leclerc is back out to start the top of the 11th. He gets Pham to fly out to left for the first out of the top of the inning.
Email from CeCe Siino:
Header: Go Diamondbacks!
You’re obviously a Ranger fan; why?
I appreciate the email! For the record, my team wasn’t even good enough to make the postseason. I have no rooting interest in this game beyond a) it being entertaining (it has been) and b) nailing my pregame prediction (I went with Texas on this game).
Diamondbacks 5-5 Rangers, bottom 10th
Corey Seagar is up with two out and runners on first and second. Nelson’s first two pitches are both balls, he’s having serious command issues. On 2-0, Seager hits a ground ball and we head to the 11th inning.
Diamondbacks 5-5 Rangers, bottom 10th
Semien hits a single, Tavares (the only run that really matters here) is now on second!
Diamondbacks 5-5 Rangers, bottom 10th
Tavares takes a strike. 0-1. Tavares takes a ball, quite outside. 1-1. He gets greedy on the next pitch, swinging at a slider at near-ground level. He then takes the next two pitches to work out a full-count. 3-2.
Nelson walks him! Marcus Semien is up with a runner on first and two outs!
Diamondbacks 5-5 Rangers, bottom 10th
Jung is up now while pun-happy headline writers start praying that he walks this off. Instead he grounds into a double play, the absolute worst case scenario for Texas there. It’s up to Taveras now to prevent this from heading into the 11th.
Diamondbacks 5-5 Rangers, bottom 10th
The new pitcher for Arizona is Kyle Nelson, who will be facing Lowe. Nelson gets ahead of Lowe 0-2, but Lowe takes the next two pitches to even the count. 2-2. He takes the next pitch. 3-2. And the next pitch. Nelson walks Lowe after putting him in an 0-2 hole. The winning run is on first base with nobody out.
Diamondbacks 5-5 Rangers, top 10th
Walker is up next, trying to make something happen for Arizona. He doesn’t, instead flying out on three pitches. The Rangers have another chance to walk it off here in the bottom of the 10th!
Diamondbacks 5-5 Rangers, top 10th
Moreno is up next for the Diamondbacks and he works a full count against Leclerc before getting him to strike out swinging. Two away.
Diamondbacks 5-5 Rangers, top 10th
José Leclerc is out there pitching for Texas at the top of the 10th, facing Ketel Marte. Just in case you were wondering, the ghost-runner on second doesn’t exist in postseason extra innings, so the bases are clear. (Also, yes, the internet was also as confused as I was about why Hedges was out there in that situation.)
Leclerc gets Marte to line out to second for the first out in extras.
Diamondbacks 5-5 Rangers, bottom 9th
Hedges hasn’t had an at-bat this postseason and it’s very obvious. He strikes out swinging on three pitches, leaving the winning run at second. That’s going to be second-guessed if the Diamondbacks come back to win this.
We, improbably, are heading into extra innings!
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Diamondbacks 5-5 Rangers, bottom 9th
García steals second and, with that, Sewald intentionally walks Garver. Austin Hedges, coming in ice cold, is the pinch-hitter for… some reason. Weird choice from Bochy here.
Diamondbacks 5-5 Rangers, bottom 9th
Can García pull off further postseason drama? This would be a perfect time to set the postseason RBI record. Instead he takes a strike and hits a ball foul. He’s down 0-2, right where Sewald wants him.
Except he nails García on a pitch. The crowd boos but I’m pretty sure that wasn’t the intention with Sewald a strike away from getting out of the inning. The pitch hit him on the hand however, so let’s hope that it’s not a serious injury. He stays in the game at first.
Diamondbacks 5-5 Rangers, bottom 9th
The Arlington crowd still is buzzing after that home run and why wouldn’t they be? It’s so loud that they barely register that Carter has fallen behind 0-2. He takes a ball outside. 1-2. He stays alive by fouling the next two pitches off.
But finally he goes out swinging. There’s two out in the bottom of the ninth.
Game-tying home run! (Seager) Diamondbacks 5-5 Rangers
Diamondbacks 5-5 Rangers, bottom 9th
Next up is Seager who can tie the game up with ONE SWING OF THE BAT. HE DOES! He hits a two-run homer and the Rangers have tied up the game in the ninth after being down two runs! INCREDIBLE!
COREY SEAGER TIES THE GAME IN THE 9TH WITH ONE SWING OF THE BAT!!!
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) October 28, 2023
📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/RcUnRf801c
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Diamondbacks 5-3 Rangers, bottom 9th
Semien is up next. One on, zero out. He can’t handle a breaking ball from Sewald. 0-1. He fouls off the next pitch. 0-2. He then strikes out. Okay that was anticlimactic. Rangers down to two outs in Game 1.
Diamondbacks 5-3 Rangers, bottom 9th
Tavares takes the first pitch he sees for a strike but lays off for the next four. Just like that, the Rangers have the tying run at-bat.
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Diamondbacks 5-3 Rangers, bottom 9th
Emmanuel Rivera is in the game at third base for the Diamondbacks. Sewald will be facing Tavares. Before that we get a nifty replay of the great catch García made to end the top of the ninth.
Diamondbacks 5-3 Rangers, top 9th
Carroll lines out to end the top of the ninth. If the Rangers want this to head into extra innings, they need two runs. If they want to win it, they will need three. They will have to do it against Arizona closer Paul Sewald, however.
Diamondbacks 5-3 Rangers, top 9th
Smith faces Perdomo with one out, getting ahead of him 0-2 before throwing two straight balls that Perdomo doesn’t offer at before he grounds out to third. Two away.
Diamondbacks 5-3 Rangers, top 9th
Jon Gray is back out there and he gets Longoria to strike out on three pitches. One away in the top of the 9th. It looks like that will be all for Gray as Will “Not That One” Smith is coming out of the bullpen.
Email from Mark Harrison:
Hey Hunter,
Politely disagree on the aesthetics of the D-backs and the Royals before them. I’d take “small ball” every day of the week over three true outcomes style swinging for the fences. Baseball.is an odd-sport to me in that way, the most effective thing someone can do, the Home Run, is not really that interesting.
Thanks for the email! It’s been a quiet night and I appreciate it!
Yes it’s definitely a matter of preference on my part, but there are different types of smallball teams. Some I enjoy more than others. So far, these Diamondbacks remind me of the 2005 Chicago White Sox and the aforementioned Kansas City Royals, where their success rate seems to outpace the talent on the roster.
Arizona fans should welcome the comparison: both of those teams won championships after all.
Diamondbacks 5-3 Rangers, bottom 8th
Jung fouls off a pitch, takes a ball and then grounds out on a sinker. It takes Ginkel a lot of work but he gets the job done and keeps Texas off the board. We’re heading to the final inning here!
Diamondbacks 5-3 Rangers, bottom 8th
Up next, Lowe takes a ball high. 1-0. He swings at the next pitch but can’t make contact. 1-1. He swings and misses at the next pitch. 1-2. Then he lines one out to Gurriel in left for the second out of the inning. Masterful pitching there from Ginkel when his team needed it. He still needs another out here to complete the job though.
Diamondbacks 5-3 Rangers, bottom 8th
Heim is up next, he takes two straight balls to start the at-bat. 2-0. Hitter’s count. Heim probably shouldn’t have swung there, that’s a ball that bounced so far that García managed to take second base. On 2-1, Heim takes ball three. 3-1. Heim fouls off the pitch. 3-2. Heim fouls off another fastball, the fifth of the at-bat. Ginkel tries a slider, Heim stays alive by fouling it off. Still 3-2. ANOTHER foul ball. That’s the eighth pitch of the at-bat. The ninth pitch is a borderline pitch that the umpire decides is a ball. The Rangers have runners on first and second with one out.
Diamondbacks 5-3 Rangers, bottom 8th
Garver is up next with a runner on first and nobody out. He’s potentially the tying run here… except he strikes out swinging on four pitches. So, make that: a runner on first and one out.
Diamondbacks 5-3 Rangers, bottom 8th
Is Kevin Ginkel there? Yes, yes, he is. He’s here pitching for the Diamondbacks and he will be facing García, who is very much not going to be lifted for a pinch-hitter. García takes a strike and then a ball and then another ball. 2-1. No, make that 3-1 after a Ginkel slider just misses the zone. García thought it was ball four. Nope. Instead, Ginkel gets him to look at a strike. 3-2. García fouls off two attempted payoff pitches, spoiling them both before hitting a solid single to lead off the inning. What a battle between pitcher and hitter!
Extremely important update: I have been informed that the Dead song I couldn’t place was a version of “Althea,” which I’ve only heard 50 times or so rather than 100s so that’s an understandable miss from me.
Diamondbacks 5-3 Rangers, top 8th
Thomas is up with a runner on first and two outs. He gets ahead of the count 3-1 before hitting a pitch foul and out of play for a full count. On 3-2, he strikes out to end the inning.
Diamondbacks 5-3 Rangers, top 8th
Gray gets Gurriel on a 1-2 count but can’t put him away, throwing a pitch outside and then allowing a single to center to keep the Diamondbacks alive in the top of the eighth.
Diamondbacks 5-3 Rangers, top 8th
Tommy Pham, who has hit the only home run of the game, is up next and he looks at a strike. 0-1. Gray goes to his slider for the next pitch, but it bounces in the dirt. 1-1. The next slider isn’t much higher. 2-1. Pham hits the next ball foul to even things out. 2-2. Pham fouls off another pitch to stay alive but strikes out on the very next pitch. Gray stays in to face Gurriel.
Diamondbacks 5-3 Rangers, top 8th
Gray is back out there for the Rangers and he gets Walker out swinging on three pitches.
Confession: I am a failure as a Deadhead. I recognized that the bumper music after the end of the 7th inning was the Grateful Dead but blanked on the song.
Diamondbacks 5-3 Rangers, bottom 7th
Evan Carter tries to salvage something here at the bottom of the seventh. He takes a ball and fouls off a sinker. 1-1. Carter swings and misses. 1-2. He takes a pitch just off the corner. 2-2. On the next pitch he almost grounds out, but it’s just foul. Never mind, Mantiply induces a pop-up to end the inning. The Rangers now just have six outs left to get two runs. Not ideal, but the game’s not over yet.
Diamondbacks 5-3 Rangers, bottom 7th
Corey Seager is back out for the Rangers. No pinch-hitters so far, but that’s probably because the Rangers started with their optimal lineup. Seager’s at-bat continues in much the same manner as his predecessor, falling behind 1-2. He fouls off the next pitch to keep alive before swinging and missing. That’s two prompt out for Mantiply.
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Diamondbacks 5-3 Rangers, bottom 7th
Joe Mantiply, who has the best last name of any player on either active roster, is up there for the Diamondbacks. He’s here to face Semien, who promptly falls behind 0-2, takes a pitch low for a ball, and then flies out to left.
Seventh inning stretch
As someone who happens to be a creature of habit, I have posted variations of this clip in the seventh-inning stretch at least once per World Series. If I can introduce just one person to the Marx Brothers, it will all be worth it.
Diamondbacks 5-3 Rangers, top 7th
Gray gets a strike swinging and then a strike looking before getting Moreno to lineout. We miss most of the at-bat because FOX is interviewing Gallen for 90% of it. In any case, we’re heading to the seventh-inning stretch
Bullpen roulette continues! Jon Gray is coming out of the pen to face (barring an offensive substitution here) Moreno.
Diamondbacks 5-3 Rangers, top 7th
Bradford is back up to start the seventh with the goal to not let this game get out of hand. A two-run deficit is manageable for these dangerous Rangers but anything more and this becomes very trick. In any case, Carroll hits a bunt back to the pitcher which is not ideal situational hitting given he’s leading off the inning, but Bradford will take it. Marte then drills one to Semien who makes a fabulous throw to get him out at first. Two down just like that.
Diamondbacks 5-3 Rangers, bottom 6th
Tavares looks at ball one and then fouls a pitch off of him. 1-1. He takes a strike next, a slider that just finds the strike zone at the last nanosecond. 1-2. Thompson is a pitch away from getting out of this potential jam. Tavares fouls off the next two pitches to stay alive but he pops one up to foul territory that’s caught by the catcher. The Rangers fail to score and we’re heading to the seventh inning.
Diamondbacks 5-3 Rangers, bottom 6th
Jung hits a single, so there’s two on with two out here. Taveras is up next with a chance to chip into Arizona’s lead.
Diamondbacks 5-3 Rangers, bottom 6th
Nathaniel Lowe is up next. He takes a sinker for a ball and then looks at a sinker that’s right in the strike zone. It’s a strike but it looked very hittable. Lowe doesn’t let up on the next pitch which he hits a very long way but he just gets underneath it so it’s just a scary-looking out number two and not a two-run homer.
Diamondbacks 5-3 Rangers, bottom 6th
Here’s the problem with Thompson: when he doesn’t have command with the sinker, things can get out of hand. He walks Heim on four pitches. Diamondbacks have a runner on first with one out.
Diamondbacks 5-3 Rangers, bottom 6th
It turns out that Gallen’s day is indeed over. Ryan Thompson is out pitching for Arizona, facing Thompson. Garver looks at a sinkerball strike and then a sinkerball ball. 1-1. I love Thompson’s funky delivery here, he crouches a bit and then sort of throws a wonky a breaker that, ideally, the hitter can’t pick up. Garver grounds out on the third one he sees to start the bottom of the sixth.
Diamondbacks 5-3 Rangers, top 6th
Perdomo fouls off a pitch and then takes a ball. Then he takes another ball. We’re at a 2-1 count here. He then takes another ball. 3-1. Thomas steal a base, that’s the fourth of the game for Arizona. Perdomo takes a strike 3-2. He thought he had first base there. He then lines out to second to end the inning.
And Dunning is out, he’s faced the minimum of three batters and it looks like Cory Bradford is coming out of the bullpen.
If I happen to call him Chad Bradford at any point I apologize in advance. I have a lot of obscure Red Sox pitchers in my brain taking up space.
Diamondbacks 5-3 Rangers, top 6th
Longoria flies out on a 2-2 pitch for the second out of the inning. The sneakily productive Perdomo is up next.
Diamondbacks 5-3 Rangers, top 6th
Thomas takes a ball, two sinkers for strikes and then manages to outrun yet another infield single.
Diamondbacks 5-3 Rangers, top 6th
Dane Dunning comes back out for the start of the sixth, facing Gurriel Jr. We haven’t had a pinch-hitter here yet but start to be on the looking out here late as managers start looking to mix-and-match batters based on relievers. Dunning gets Gurriel to ground out to short to start the sixth.
Diamondbacks 5-3 Rangers, bottom 5th
Gallen is an out away from qualifying for a win but it’s going to be a tricky out because it’s García who scalds a ball but right at short. Even if this is it for Gallen, and it might not be, he may have just given his team enough here. To the sixth!
Diamondbacks 5-3 Rangers, bottom 5th
Evan Carter is up next and falls behind 0-2. He fouls off the next pitch to stay alive and then shows some patience, taking a high ball and a low ball, before finally striking out swinging on a nice curve. Two away.
Diamondbacks 5-3 Rangers, bottom 5th
Gallen is back out there with a shot to outlast Eovaldi. Wouldn’t have guessed that after the first two innings, but this has not been a postseason that has rewarded educated guesses. Seager is up for the Rangers and he grounds out to Walker on a 1-2 pitch.
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Diamondbacks 5-3 Rangers, top 5th
Dane Dunning is the new Texas pitcher, facing Pham, who has already hit the first home run of the 2023 World Series. Christian Walker steals second during the at-bat but Dunning gets him to ground out to finally end the inning. We’re now halfway through regulation and heading to the bottom of the fifth inning.
Walker walking in the World Series has satisfied everybody:
we love to see nominative determinism in the world series
— Lindsey Adler (@lindseyadler) October 28, 2023
Diamondbacks 5-3 Rangers, top 5th
Eovaldi, at 85 pitches, is starting to lose his command. He falls behind Walker 3-0 before the Rangers batter fouls off a pitch for strike one. On the next pitch, Walker walks. As foretold. Arizona now has runners on the corners with two out.
That will be it for Eovaldi. Rangers manager Bruce Bochy is heading for his bullpen.
Diamondbacks 5-3 Rangers, top 5th
Moreno grounds out to short. Marte takes second on the play but there’s now two out. Eovaldi just has to focus on Christian Walker here.
Run-scoring double! (Marte) Diamondbacks 5-3 Rangers
Diamondbacks 5-3 Rangers, top 5th
Our first Luis Gonzalez mention during the play-by-play, at least that I caught. We’re going to hear more about the 2001 World Series folk hero before this coverage is through. (Particularly if the Diamondbacks win it all.) Marte is at-bat and he gets ahead of the count 2-1 before rocketing a double into center that scores Perdomo! Arizona has a two-run lead!
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Diamondbacks 4-3 Rangers, top 5th
Eovaldi’s at 70 pitches now, the Rangers would like to get him to at least the seventh. He throws a pitchout to try to get Perdomo at first, but no dice. 1-0. The next two pitches are both balls. 3-0. Carroll takes a strike down the middle. 3-1. He can’t make contact on the next pitch. Eovaldi has worked his way back to a full count. Perdomo steals second on the swing, however. Carroll strikes out. It’s a productive strikeout thanks to the steal. One out in the inning.
Diamondbacks 4-3 Rangers, top 5th
Eovaldi is back out there to start the fifth and Perdomo hits a single to centerfield. That’s usually not a great sign when the number nine hitter makes solid contact like that.
Diamondbacks 4-3 Rangers, bottom 4th
Semien is up to try to salvage something here for Texas. He swings wildly on the first pitch and can’t connect at all. 0-1. Semien takes two balls, 2-1. He grounds the next pitch foul. 2-2. He then flies out to end the inning. It’s a long flyout that looks a bit scary at first but Gurriel has an easy read on it to make the catch. Onto the fifth!
Diamondbacks 4-3 Rangers, bottom 4th
Taveras takes a ball, fouls off a pitch and then takes a strike before swinging and missing at a low pitch that was maybe just outside the zone. Two down.
Diamondbacks 4-3 Rangers, bottom 4th
Josh Jung is out next. No, I will not make another Jungian psychology joke here, I promised myself I’d just make a single one this entire World Series. He hits a 2-1 single here, so it’s not going to be a 1-2-3 inning for Gallen.
Diamondbacks 4-3 Rangers, bottom 4th
Gallen is back out there in the bottom of the fourth. He’s thrown 71 pitches so far but needs just two more to get Lowe to fly out to left for the first out of the inning.
Diamondbacks 4-3 Rangers, top 4th
Has Longoria now been in MLB for 15 years? That’s what FOX’s graphic tells me. Time moves so very fast. In any case, he takes strike three on a 2-2 count to end the inning.
Diamondbacks 4-3 Rangers, top 4th
Alek Thomas is up next. Meanwhile, the FOX broadcast crew is talking with Pham who just ran the bases. Maybe give him some time to catch his breath? Thomas grounds out to first shortly after the impromptu interview.
Diamondbacks 4-3 Rangers, top 4th
Gurriel Jr grounds out to short but already this is not the start the Rangers were hoping to get out of Eovaldi. The more they have to rely on the bullpen, the worse off their chances.
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Home run! (Pham) Diamondbacks 4-3 Rangers
Diamondbacks 4-3 Rangers, top 4th
Tommy Pham is up and he hits one out! The Diamondbacks immediately get their run back on a towering home run!
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Diamondbacks 3-3 Rangers, bottom 3rd
Heim is up now, bases re-loaded. He flies out on just two pitches to end the inning but now we’re all knotted up. Were heading to the fourth inning of what already looks like it’s going to be a nail-biter.
Run-scoring base-on-balls (Garver) Diamondbacks 3-3 Rangers
Diamondbacks 3-3 Rangers, bottom 3rd
Mitch Garver is up with bases loaded. He fouls off the first pitch and then takes two changeups outside the zone. 2-1. Gallen tries a cutter, that’s a ball. 3-1 and there are no bases left. A huge pitch for Gallen and… he gets a strike call. Full count. He’s a pitch away from getting out of this. Garver fouls off the next pitch. Still 3-2. Garver fouls off the next pitch. He stays alive. This is drama right here!
He takes a pitch outside. That’s a run-scoring walk and the game is now tied!
Diamondbacks 3-2 Rangers, bottom 3rd
García gets ahead of the count 2-1, just barely avoiding get hit by a pitch, before laying off on a juicy-looking strike that he could have crushed. 2-2. García takes two more pitches and the Rangers have loaded the bases with two outs.
Diamondbacks 3-2 Rangers, bottom 3rd
Evan Carter looks at a strike, looks at a ball and then hits a booming double. Seagar doesn’t score, which is good news for the Diamondbacks, but García is at the plate. That’s the less good news for them.
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Diamondbacks 3-2 Rangers, bottom 3rd
Seagar gets ahead of the count 3-1 and then walks on pitch number five.
Diamondbacks 3-2 Rangers, bottom 3rd
Marcus Semien takes a strike and hits a ball that lands in foul territory for strike two. 0-2. Semien takes a pitch and then strikes out himself.
Diamondbacks 3-2 Rangers, bottom 3rd
Leody Tavares is up and he’s down, striking out on five pitches.
These Diamondbacks remind me of the 2015 Kansas City Royals.
Good news for the Diamondbacks, bad news for me as a fan of aesthetically pleasing baseball.
Diamondbacks 3-2 Rangers, top 3rd
Unfortunately for the Rangers, it turns out that they got no outs on that fielder’s choice. So Marte is on first base, although not for long. He steals second when Moreno strikes out.
Walker strikes out to end the inning but Eovaldi had to throw a few more pitches to get out of it. Nothing went right for Texas this inning.
Run-scoring fielder's choice (Metel)! Diamondbacks 3-2 Rangers
Diamondbacks 3-2 Rangers, top 3rd
Metel is up next with a chance to score a run on an out. He does! He grounds into a fielder’s choice and the Diamondbacks have a lead somehow! And the Rangers can’t even get an out on the play! This is Arizona baseball, it’s a little bit irritating but it seems to be working this postseason.
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Two-run triple! (Corbin Carroll) Diamondbacks 2-2 Rangers
Diamondbacks 2-2 Rangers, top 3rd
And here’s why it was a good idea! With runners on second and third, Carroll hits a triple that ties the game and puts him on third with less than two outs in the inning!
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Diamondbacks 0-2 Rangers, top 3rd
Evan Longoria, who has remained in the league long after the Desperate Housewives puns fell out of cultural relevancy, hits a single and now it’s runners on first and second with nobody out. Geraldo Perdomo then his a sacrifice bunt to move the runners up to second and third.
I normally don’t like bunts, but considering the situation and that Perdomo is hitting ninth for a reason, I get it this time.
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Diamondbacks 0-2 Rangers, top 3rd
Eovaldi is back out there against the Diamondbacks, still looking for a baserunner. They get one! Alek Thomas outruns a chopper to short for an infield single and this is how Arizona bothers opposing pitchers and defenses. They are pesky as all get out and prolific base stealers.
I usually only talk about the commercials I’m sick of here in these liveblogs but I’m going to say that if FOX keeps playing this Olivia Rodrigo “Get Him Back” commercial every few innings, I’d be perfectly fine with that.
Diamondbacks 0-2 Rangers, bottom 2nd
Josh Jung, an archetype born from our collective unconscious, is up next. He takes two strikes and then fouls off a changeup to stay alive before swinging and missing. A 1-2-3 inning for Gallen, which is exactly what he needed. To the third inning!
Diamondbacks 0-2 Rangers, bottom 2nd
Nathaniel Lowe is up next. He falls behind 0-2 but takes two balls to even the count 2-2 before also grounding out to second. That’s a better start for Gallen.
Diamondbacks 0-2 Rangers, bottom 2nd
Jonah Heim grounds out to second base to start the bottom of the second.
Diamondbacks 0-2 Rangers, top 2nd
Lourdes Gurriel Jr is up next, he falls behind 0-2 almost immediately. Eovaldi has his stuff going early here. He doesn’t even see a pitch outside before striking out. The second straight 1-2-3 inning for Eovaldi. Gallen barely had time to catch his breath and he’s heading back out there.
Diamondbacks 0-2 Rangers, top 2nd
Tommy Pham is up next and he’s gone in three straight pitches in about the time it took me to write this sentence.
Diamondbacks 0-2 Rangers, top 2nd
Eovaldi is here facing Christian Walker, who takes a strike and then fouls a ball off. That’s not living up to your name, Walker. There we go, he finally takes a ball, this one way outside, and then another, more upstairs. 2-2. He takes another ball before taking a ball in the zone to become Christian Strikeoutter.
After the review, it turns out that García was out so Gallen gets out of the inning without further damage.
If he can right himself and still go deep in the game, that may end up being a key challenge for the Diamondbacks.
Diamondbacks 0-2 Rangers, bottom 1st
There’s still just one out in the inning. Mitch Garver is up for Texas, taking a ball outside. Gallen fools him on the next two pitches, a called strike and then a swinging one. Garver grounds into a fielder choice, which brings García to second but now there’s two outs.
Maybe. Arizona challenges the call.
Run-scoring single! (Adolis García) Diamondbacks 0-2 Rangers
Diamondbacks 0-2 Rangers, bottom 1st
Adolis García is up next. Gallen pitches him very carefully, understandably with a runner on second base and first base open. On 3-1, García lines a single that scores the super-speedy Carter and it’s 2-0 just like that!
Run scoring double (Evan Carter)! Diamondbacks 0-1 Rangerse
Diamondbacks 0-1 Rangers, bottom 1st
Evan Carter is next with a runner on first. He takes a strike and then two straight balls before fouling off a pitch. 2-2. Carter falls off the next. 2-2. Still alive. On the next pitch, he slams a double that scores Seager! Rangers have an early 1-0 lead!
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Diamondbacks 0-0 Rangers, bottom 1st
Corey Seager is up next and he takes three straight pitches outside the zone, although these seem to be pretty tight calls from the home plate umpire. Gallen gets a strike call on his fourth pitch. Seager fouls the next one off, full count. The next pitch is a ball and he takes a walk to first base and become the first baserunner of this World Series.
Diamondbacks 0-0 Rangers, bottom 1st
Zac Gallen is out there against Marcus Semien, one of the Ranger’s most dangerous bats (which is saying something).
Gallen’s a much better pitcher (All-Star Game starter!) than he appeared during the NLCS. The Diamondbacks are going to need Gallen to give them a solid start. He get Semien to ground out to short on four pitches.
Diamondbacks 0-0 Rangers, top 1st
Gabriel Moreno is up next for the Diamondbacks. He actually gets ahead in the count 2-1. He swings and misses at another splitter, a pitch working well for Eovaldi, he takes another pitch to work a full count but eventually strikes out to the end the top of the first.
Diamondbacks 0-0 Rangers, top 1st
Eovaldi gets Ketel Marte to hit a foul ball and then swing and miss on a low splitter. 0-2. The next pitch is a ball. 1-2. Marte fouls the next one off before taking another ball. 2-2. He then grounds out, again right to first.
Diamondbacks 0-0 Rangers, top 1st
Eovaldi gets a strike on pitch two and induces a groundball out to first for the game’s first out.
First pitch!
Diamondbacks 0-0 Rangers, top 1st
Nathan Eovaldi is on the mound for Texas, facing Arizona’s Corbin Carroll. Eovaldi’s first pitch to Carroll and Carroll fouls it off for strike one. The World Series has officially begun!
Oh never mind, here’s the big dramatic montage. Oh well, I will never get sick of watching Carlton Fisk waving the ball fair. You have to play the hits if you’re FOX.
We’re almost in time for the actual baseball! The official broadcast has begun and… oh wow, not even a big long dramatic montage. I like how more down-to-earth this is compared to the NFL postseason.
Derek Jeter interviews former Texas Rangers owner, and current mediocre painter, George W Bush, who is throwing out the first pitch. The broadcast reminds us that he did the same thing to kick off the 2001 World Series, immediately after 9/11.
Of course, the Diamondbacks famously *won* that series. So, well, it’s an interesting choice for the Rangers in that respect.
Updated
National anthem
Today’s national anthem is courtesy of H.E.R., who I mostly know for being absolutely huge among people who vote for the Grammy Awards. Not a bad target demo to have. She is perfectly acceptable as always. 6/10.
We’re getting the team announcements now. It’s fun that they broadcast these for the first home games of the World Series. I love the ceremony of the whole thing.
Predictions
Who you got in the beeball Hunter? Really wanted the Phillies to win purely for Castellanos so a bit confused as to who to root for
— dreams of widnes (@DWidnes) October 27, 2023
My main prediction: this is not going to be a short series. The Phillies have the better offense, and had the best defense in the American League all season long. However, they lack depth in their pitchers outside their frontline starters. Meanwhile, the Diamondbacks can’t rely on the big home runs like the Rangers, but they have the kind of opportunistic offense that can absolutely feast on bad pitching. On the flipside, Arizona also has the superior bullpen depth. This will be the meeting of two very different with evenly matched rosters. I have the Rangers in six, maybe seven.
I also predicted a Phillies-Astros rematch. So who knows, however.
In Game 1, however, I’m betting on Nathan Eovaldi continuing with his postseason success. He’s 8-3 lifetime in the playoffs, with a 2.87 ERA, and has already helped the Boston Red Sox win their most recently title back in 2018. If he goes deep in this game, the Rangers will have an excellent chance to get a Game 1 victory. If they lose, the Rangers might already be in a deep hole.
Your thoughts? Again, we’re taking them here, feel free to email them to hunter.felt.freelance@theguardian.com or tweet them to @HunterFelt.
Updated
Rangers starting lineup
1. Marcus Semien, 2B
2. Corey Seager, SS
3. Evan Carter, LF
4. Adolis García, RF
5. Mitch Garver, DH
6. Jonah Heim, C
7. Nathaniel Lowe, 1B
8. Josh Jung, 3B
9. Leody Taveras, CF
Starting pitcher: Nathan Eovaldi,
Arizona Diamondbacks lineup
1. Corbin Carroll, RF
2. Ketel Marte, 2B
3. Gabriel Moreno, C
4. Christian Walker, 1B
5. Tommy Pham, DH
6. Lourdes Gurriel Jr., LF
7. Alek Thomas, CF
8. Evan Longoria, 3B
9. Geraldo Perdomo, SS
Starting pitcher: Zac Gallen
Brief history
The Diamondbacks are in their second World Series, having beaten the New York Yankees in 2001 (the first and still most dramatic World Series of the millennium). The Rangers made it this far twice in their existence They lost back-to-back appearances in 2010 and 11.
Since the Rangers have been in Texas since 1972 (they were the Washington Senators for a decade before that) it’s arguable that they’ve been waiting longer than the expansion Diamondbacks, who came into existence in 1998. That is not, however, how Major League Baseball works: championships aren’t awarded based on who’s been waiting longer.
Preamble
When you’ve been doing a job for a while, you often feel a certain sense of deja vu. This won’t be the first time I’ve started a Game 1 liveblog by saying something equivalent to, “nobody had these two teams as being the last ones standing at the end of the season.”
However, let’s be real: this has to be the most unlikely and impossible-to-predict World Series matchups of the Wild Card era. The Ringer attempted to figure out the likelihood of this happening and they estimated something of a .006 percent chance, a real Han Solo “never tell me the odds” moment.
It also leaves us, the sports-talking media, in somewhat a bind. How do you hype up a series between two teams that have no history between them and are rarely in the national spotlight? There are no clear superstars here, at least not yet, and no obvious storylines to make our jobs easier.
Well, here’s the wonderful thing about sports: if you put two teams together and force them to play four-to-seven games, storylines will emerge! Sports are narrative-creating machines and drama can emerge out of nowhere.
Let’s take this Arizona Diamondbacks season. When the Philadelphia Phillies took a 2-0 lead over them in the NLCS, it looked like Philadelphia was destined to make its second-straight World Series. Instead, Arizona rallied to come back and won both Games 6 and 7, taking advantage of Houston’s inability to win at home. Not bad for a team that ended their regular season with an 84-78 record, putting them 16 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in their own division.
The Rangers didn’t technically win their division either, they had an identical record to the Houston Astros, who were awarded the division on the tiebreaker. This ultimately didn’t matter, the Rangers upset the Astros when the games mattered most, holding on to win a seven-game series against the MLB’s Designated Villains, relying on clutch home runs to shift momentum back in their favor whenever it looked like Houston had regained control.
Now, the Rangers will start proven postseason performer Nathan Eovaldi, who has gone 4-0 with a 2.42 ERA in these playoffs, while the Diamondbacks will start Zac Gallen, 2-2 with a 5.24 ERA in his first four playoff games. If it sounds like Texas has the edge today, well, it would be a mistake to assume anything during this postseason where the favorites have continually faltered.
As always, we would love to hear your thoughts as the game progresses. You can send in predictions, commentary and questions either via email (to hunter.felt.freelance@theguardian.com) or Twitter (to @HunterFelt) and we’ll publish them here throughout. Or you can just sit back and lurk, it’s really up to you!
It’s Game 1 of the World Series between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Philadelphia Phillies at Globe Life Field! First pitch is scheduled at 8:03 pm EST, but we’ll be back before that with predictions, starting lineups and other assorted nonsense.
Hunter will be here shortly. In the meantime here’s Alex Kirshner’s lookahead to the 119th Fall Classic.
