29 Oct 202323.21 EDTFinal thoughts
Okay, we officially have a series! Assuming one has no rooting interest in either of the remaining teams, there’s no greater start to a World Series than a split in the first two games. A 1-1 split is an ideal situation for the casual fan as it usually portends a longer series. It is, of course, a less than ideal situation for the Rangers. Today, their weaknesses were exposed and they know their two-game home stand could have gone worse: they needed plenty of late-inning drama just to pull off a come-from-behind win in Game 1.
What happens next is anybody’s guess. The World Series heads to Arizona for Monday’s Game 3 where Rangers’ Max Scherzer and the Diamondbacks’ Brandon Pfaadt are currently penciled in as the probable starters. Stay tuned to the Guardian for further coverage of the 2023 World Series as it develops but this will wrap up today’s Game 2 liveblog. Thanks to everybody who followed along with us tonight. Ciao!
29 Oct 202323.12 EDTMerrill Kelly
Despite the final score, this was a much closer game until the Rangers bullpen imploded late. Arizona’s big hero was starting pitcher Merrill Kelly who put up a dazzling pitching performance: 7.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 7 Ks. It even felt like he could have stayed in there longer if necessary. Easily the player of the game.
29 Oct 202323.08 EDTThe Arizona Diamondbacks win Game 2
The Arizona Diamondbacks, on the back of an impressive pitching performance by Merrill Kelly, have won Game 2 of the 2023 World Series! The series is now tied 1-1 heading to Arizona for Monday’s Game 3.
Updated at 23.10 EDT29 Oct 202323.07 EDTDiamondbacks 9-1 Rangers, FINAL
Garver’s only goal here is to not make the final out of a World Series game. Luckily for him, Frías puts him in a decent position by throwing him two straight balls to start the plate appearance. However, after two strikes, he lines out to third and, in fact, makes the final out of a World Series game.
The Arizona Diamondbacks hold on to win!
29 Oct 202323.04 EDTDiamondbacks 9-1 Rangers, bottom 9th
Frías can end the game right here, as long as he can get García out. He falls behind 2-1, which would be worrisome if he wasn’t working with an eight-run lead. Semien takes second on defensive indifference but he would have made it there anyways because García eventually takes ball four. There’s runners on first and second but the key stat remains the fact that there’s two outs in the ninth inning.
29 Oct 202323.01 EDTDiamondbacks 9-1 Rangers, bottom 9th
Grossman looks at a Frías ball to start his at-bat but three strikes later, he’s out of there. The Rangers are down to their final out.
29 Oct 202322.58 EDTDiamondbacks 9-1 Rangers, bottom 9th
Luis Frías is coming into the game to get the final two outs for Arizona, possibly against Rangers pinch-hitter Robbie Grossman. Stay tuned.
Updated at 23.00 EDT29 Oct 202322.57 EDTDiamondbacks 9-1 Rangers, bottom 9th
Seager is up next. He hits a long flyball that’s caught in centerfield. The Rangers are down to their last two outs of Game 2.
29 Oct 202322.56 EDTDiamondbacks 9-1 Rangers, bottom 9th
Saalfrank starts the bottom of the ninth, hoping to end this one as quickly as possible. Semien will lead things off here, although one imagines the Rangers are already looking ahead to Game 3. Semien hits a booming flyball that lands foul. He takes a ball and then fouls off the next pitch. 1-2. He then hits a ground ball that sneaks through the defenders for a single, his first hit of the game.
29 Oct 202322.52 EDTTwo run single! (Rivera) Diamondbacks 9-1 Rangers
Diamondbacks 9-1 Rangers, top 9th
Rivera is up with runners on second and third but two outs. He drives in two runs with a single to absolutely ruin my pregame prediction. He gets thrown out on second to end the inning however. To the bottom of the ninth!
29 Oct 202322.50 EDTDiamondbacks 7-1 Rangers, top 9th
Thomas is up with two on and one out. He grounds out on two pitches, moving the runners into scoring position.
29 Oct 202322.49 EDTDiamondbacks 7-1 Rangers, top 9th
Gurriel hits a single to centerfield, Peterson advances on the play.
29 Oct 202322.48 EDTDiamondbacks 7-1 Rangers, top 9th
Jace Peterson is getting a pinch-hitting opportunity here for Arizona. It’s kind of like a basketball game now here where the coaches empty out the bench. Peterson works a full count before hitting into a fielder’s choice. Walker is erased on the play. So it’s one down with Peterson on first.
29 Oct 202322.45 EDTDiamondbacks 7-1 Rangers, top 9th
Pérez is back out there to pitch, essentially in mop-up duty now. He faces Walker, who hits a single to center. That’s Walker’s first hit of the World Series so good for him.
29 Oct 202322.41 EDTDiamondbacks 7-1 Rangers, bottom 8th
That’s two quick outs for the Diamondbacks, so Tavares is up to try to salvage anything here for Texas. He falls behind in the count 0-2, takes two pitches and grounds out to short. The Rangers challenge the play, but the call is confirmed. To the ninth inning!
29 Oct 202322.38 EDTDiamondbacks 7-1 Rangers, bottom 8th
Saalfrank gets Jung to ground out to third, sorry Jung lovers.
29 Oct 202322.37 EDTDiamondbacks 7-1 Rangers, bottom 8th
Andrew Saalfrank is pitching now for Arizona as Kelly gets a well-earned rest. Rivera stays in the game, playing third base. Lowe is at the plate for the Rangers and he promptly grounds out to second.
29 Oct 202322.36 EDTMe earlier: “I’m going to guess this ends with a score like Diamondbacks 6-2 Rangers.”
If this holds up, I want to claim partial credit.
29 Oct 202322.34 EDTDiamondbacks 7-1 Rangers, top 8th
Moreno strikes out on three pitches to finally end the inning, but the damage is done and this one feels all but out of reach for Texas. Still, the game must go on and we head to the bottom of the 8th inning.
29 Oct 202322.33 EDTRBI single! (Carroll) Diamondbacks 7-1 Rangers
Diamondbacks 7-1 Rangers, top 8th
Carroll singles here and scores Perdomo! The Diamondbacks are just teeing off on these relievers.
29 Oct 202322.31 EDTTwo-run single! (Marte) Diamondbacks 6-1 Rangers
Diamondbacks 6-1 Rangers, top 8th
This is more like the Rangers bullpen I was expecting. Ketel Marte is up next with the bases loaded and a chance to make the rest of this game entirely irrelevant. Pérez’s first pitch is yet another ball, this one that barely misses the ground. 1-0. Marte takes a huge swing and the next pitch, he doesn’t make contact. However, on the next pitch, he knocks in a base hit that’s a two-run, two-out single and the Diamondbacks have a five-run lead!
29 Oct 202322.28 EDTDiamondbacks 4-1 Rangers, top 8th
Pérez faces Perdomo who looks at two straight strikes. He fouls off a 0-2 pitch to stay alive before taking a ball. 1-2. He doesn’t offer at another ball. 2-2. Pérez tries a sinker and doesn’t get the call. 3-2. The crowd boos, it does look like a borderline pitch but Pérez isn’t really showing great command.
And, yeah, he throws another ball to walk the bases loaded.
29 Oct 202322.25 EDTDiamondbacks 4-1 Rangers, top 8th
What if you appeared in a World Series game and didn’t get a chance to hit? Well, it looks like Emmanuel Rivera is in to hit with Pérez in the game. Ah, managerial chess matches, how I loathe thee. Once again, that runner is still on second and there are still two outs. Pérez gets a strike on his first pitch to Rivera and then uncorks three straight pitches that aren’t in the zone before Rivera swings and misses to make it a full count. He waits for the next pitch and takes a walk.
So that’s runners on first and second with two outs now.
29 Oct 202322.21 EDTDiamondbacks 4-1 Rangers, top 8th
Oh hey, a rare Diamondbacks pinch-hitter. Welcome to the World Series, Pavin Smith! Meanwhile, Stratton is out of the game now and pitcher Martín Pérez is coming in.
29 Oct 202322.20 EDTDiamondbacks 4-1 Rangers, top 8th
To be fair, that’s not a terrible bunt, again it’s a situation where one more run might put this one out of reach. It’s also weird because Stratton doesn’t seem sharp. He gets ahead of Thomas 0-2 and just can’t put him away. Thomas works a full count and then starts to foul off fastballs to stay alive. On pitch number nine, however, Stratton gets him to look at a curve that just hits the corner for strike three. That’s now two out with a runner on second.
The announcers note that this was the first time an Arizona hitter struck out this game, which is maybe the number one reason why the Diamondbacks are in front.
29 Oct 202322.16 EDTDiamondbacks 4-1 Rangers, top 8th
Gurriel Jr. is up next. He bunts and I’m just getting sick of this. Pham is on second base with one out now.
29 Oct 202322.15 EDTDiamondbacks 4-1 Rangers, top 8th
Chris Stratton is the next Rangers reliever. He has absolutely no room for error given that there’s a huge difference between a three-run deficit and a four-run deficit. It’s the entire basis of the archaic “save” rule! He’s here to face Pham, who puts him to work by running up a full count on eight pitches before hitting a single to start of the top of the eighth. He’s 4-to-4 on the day.
29 Oct 202322.10 EDTIn a world full of bullpen games and pitching “openers,” it’s important that we recognize how rare it is for a starter to get this deep in a postseason game.
Merrill Kelly is now the first pitcher to work seven innings in a World Series game in the 2020s. The last pitchers to do it were Stephen Strasburg (8.1 IP) and Gerrit Cole (7 innings twice) in 2019.
— Tyler Kepner (@TylerKepner) October 29, 2023Diamondbacks 4-1 Rangers, bottom 7th
Two out, nobody on in the bottom of the seventh. Heim is up to the plate for Texas and he gets ahead of the count 2-0 before looking at his first strike. 2-1. Kelly’s next pitch is a ball, 3-1. Could this be a rare walk?
Nope, Heim watches two straight strikes to end the inning. The Rangers have just six outs to play with to score three runs. Can they pull of late-inning magic again?
29 Oct 202322.07 EDTDiamondbacks 4-1 Rangers, bottom 7th
Kelly gets Garver to ground out on three pitches. Not only is he doing a great job in limiting the Rangers to a single run but he’s also saving the Arizona bullpen here.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTEoKyaqpSerq96wqikaKugpL%2B1e8uirZ5nYmV%2FdHvOnKtoamhkxLC%2By51krJ2inrK0ecaapJ5lYmKus7XZqKWaZZSerq67zZ2ZmpubqHq3edOer5qrXaeur7PEq6pmpJmrsg%3D%3D