The Answerbacks continue to live up to their name.
After blowing a late 5-3 Game 1 lead and eventually losing 6-5 in extra innings, the Arizona Diamondbacks answered in a massive way to even the 2023 World Series vs. the Texas Rangers 1-1.
Arizona won Game 2 on Saturday 9-1, with the bottom of the order coming up clutch. It was a stark difference to Texas’ big hitters, who couldn’t provide the energetic moments that helped the side dramatically claim the series opener.
Jordan Montgomery and Merrill Kelly each didn’t allow a run through three innings, but the former blinked first when Gabriel Moreno hit a solo home run to center in the fourth, his fourth homer of the postseason.
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Arizona added another shortly after when Lourdes Gurriel Jr.'s single to left saw Tommy Pham score from second base.
Texas finally cracked Kelly’s code in the ensuing inning, though it didn’t exactly come easy. Mitch Garver got his third homer of the postseason by sending Kelly’s sinker to left, somehow lifting the low ball 404 feet over the fence.
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Montgomery came out after pitching six innings, but reliever Andrew Heaney lasted just six pitches. Evan Longoria drove in Alek Thomas while Corbin Carroll did the same for Longoria – both off singles – as Arizona ballooned its lead to 4-1 in the seventh.
Rangers manager Bruce Bochy quickly pulled Heaney and dug further into the bullpen.
But the Diamondbacks weren’t done there, padding the lead to capitalize on their dominance. Despite having two outs, reliever Martin Perez fell in a jam as the bases loaded twice under his watch.
Arizona collected three runs from the spell thanks to a Ketel Marte single followed by a Carroll single shortly after. Marte’s single made it 18 straight postseason games with a hit, the longest streak in league history.
Emmanuel Rivera added two RBIs in the ninth when a single to left allowed Jace Peterson and Gurriel Jr. to make it 9-1.
Pham had a flawless night, batting 4-for-4 with two runs. In total, 10 Diamondbacks logged at least one hit. The only one who didn’t was Peterson who pinch-hit for Pham in the ninth, but even then he contributed with a run.
Texas endured the complete opposite story. Corey Seager went 0-for-4 at the plate, which included a strikeout, while Adolis Garcia, the Game 1 hero, went 0-for-3. Besides Garver’s homer, only Marcus Semien, Evan Carter and Josh Jung logged one hit.
Kelly arguably came out the best player in this one, logging nine strikeouts in seven innings to just three hits, one run and one error. The 35-year-old pitcher didn’t give Texas a sniff.
Game 3 will head to Arizona on Monday, Oct. 30 beginning at 8:03 p.m. ET. Max Scherzer vs. Brandon Pfaadt is expected to be the pitching matchup.
