Well, the bullpen game did not go to plan.
The Texas Rangers stormed past the Arizona Diamondbacks 11-7 in Game 4 of the 2023 World Series on Tuesday, with the second and third innings making the difference as they took a 3-1 series lead.
Texas can win the World Series – for the first time ever – with a road win on Wednesday. The Rangers are a perfect 10-0 in away games this postseason – which extends their MLB-best postseason record.
Whereas Texas started Andrew Heaney, Arizona turned to its bullpen without a starting-quality pitcher to call upon. But the Rangers ended the game before it really even started, scoring five runs in both the second and third innings to put the game out of reach.
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In the second, Josh Jung scored thanks to a wild pitch before a Marcus Semien triple drove in two runs. Then Corey Seager came to the plate and launched another two-run homer to make it 5-0.
Then Travis Jankowski, who replaced Adolis Garcia after his series-ending injury, stepped up and doubled to right to drive in two runs before Marcus Semien drilled a three-run homer to balloon the lead to 10-0.
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Arizona got its first run in the fourth when Lourdes Gurriel Jr.’s sacrifice fly allowed Gabriel Moreno to score, but, just like Game 3, the Diamondbacks’ bats lacked venom early on.
Ryne Nelson helped stabilize the bleeding for Arizona after Miguel Castro, Kyle Nelson and Luis Frias all allowed three runs in the blink of an eye. But through five innings of solid pitching, he eventually succumbed to a Jonah Heim solo homer in the eighth that made it 11-1.
Things got interesting in the bottom of the eighth when Arizona’s offense finally woke up. Corbin Carroll scored off Tommy Pham’s sacrifice fly before Gurriel Jr. added a three-run homer to left, cutting the deficit to 11-5.
Arizona added another two runs in the ninth when Moreno’s single to center drove in Jordan Lawlar and Geraldo Perdomo, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the early deficit.
The Diamondbacks will need to hope their momentum to end the game can carry over to Game 5, as for the second straight game they logged more hits than Texas with nothing to show for it.
Limiting home runs must be an emphasis for that to happen, though, as the Rangers have capitalized in that regard, most notably Seager.
Jung led the way for Texas going 3-for-5 at the plate, with Semien going 2-for-5 and Jankowski coming up clutch with a 2-for-4 game. He recorded hits in his first two at-bats.
Gurriel Jr., Moreno and Ketel Marte each put up two hits, but the Diamondbacks’ offense hasn’t looked the same since scoring nine runs in their Game 2 victory. The last two innings in Game 4 provided a glimpse that maybe there’s some juice left in the tank.
Game 5 is on Wednesday at 8:03 p.m. ET, with Nathan Eovaldi and Zac Gallen the probable starters. It’s Arizona’s final home game of the season as Games 6 and 7 will be in Texas, but that’s if the Diamondbacks can answer back in their most crucial moment yet.
