The roles completely flipped in Game 3.
After Game 2 saw the Texas Rangers struggle to get going offensively, this time the Arizona Diamondbacks fell flat in a 3-1 loss at home.
Texas struck first in the battle between veteran Max Scherzer and rookie Brandon Pfaadt. Pfaadt found himself in trouble in the third, which resulted in Marcus Semien driving in Nathaniel Lowe on a single before Corey Seager delivered a two-run homer to make it 3-0 in a flash.
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Seager enjoyed an active series opener before going 0-for-4 in Texas’ loss last time out, but his second at-bat of the night recovered his form in a pivotal way.
But Scherzer’s night ended when it flipped to the bottom of the third. The 39-year-old experienced back tightness after throwing 36 pitches, prompting him to be pulled for Jon Gray. Gray, though, is the expected starter for Game 4 on Tuesday, so how he’ll be managed is something to monitor.
But Gray did more than his fair share in three innings, where he recorded three strikeouts in 30 pitches and allowed just one hit. Arizona didn't have an answer for him.
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The rest of the way after the third was quiet for both sides, with the only real intrigue coming from an Adolis Garcia injury scare as he left towards the clubhouse holding his back.
It then took Arizona until the bottom of the eighth to find some life against Aroldis Chapman. Emmanuel Rivera got on second base before Geraldo Perdomo drove him in with a deep single to left to cut the lead to 3-1.
Texas’ offense wasn’t anything to write home about, but Seager’s two-run homer proved to be the moment that won his team the game. Otherwise, key contributors like Garcia and Mitch Garver, among others, didn’t record a hit. Rookie Evan Carter went 2-for-3, though, and should be noted.
The Diamondbacks were led by Tommy Pham going 2-for-4 with two hits in his first three at-bats, but Corbin Carroll, Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Alek Thomas and others did not get themselves involved.
Game 4 in Arizona is slated for Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. ET. Gray, as aforementioned, is expected to start after an impressive outing in Game 3 while the Diamondbacks are expected to run a bullpen game.
