How do Texas Rangers compare to Arizona Diamondbacks ahead of their World Series matchup?
The Arizona Diamondbacks and the Texas Rangers will play in the World Series following both teams’ series-clinching Game 7 wins in the NLCS and ALCS, respectively.
The teams played in two short series during the regular season with the Rangers losing three out of four to the Diamondbacks. How do the teams compare for the rematch?
Pitching Rotation
The Phillies and Rangers both have top-five ERAs in the postseason led by spectacular 1-2 punches.
Rangers: Nathan Eovaldi has a 2.42 ERA in 26 innings pitched this postseason and is 4-0 on the mound. Jordan Montgomery has been equally impressive with a 2.38 ERA in 22.2 innings pitched with a record of 2-0. The rotation thins after Montgomery and Eovaldi is but the return of Max Scherzer amplifies this rotation.
Diamondbacks: Arizona sports the third-lowest ERA (3.23) during the postseason. That ERA is despite the struggles of their ace Zac Gallen. Gallen is 2-2 with a 5.24 ERA and struggled in both starts in the NLCS against the Phillies. Merrill Kelly has been the most successful starter for Arizona this postseason, giving up only five runs in 17 innings pitched while winning two of his three starts including his most important Game 6 of the NLCS on the road.
Bullpen
Both teams’ bullpens have been inconsistent at times throughout the postseason.
Rangers: Texas’ bullpen woes plagued the team throughout the season, but the unit has stabilized in the postseason. The bullpen is 3-2 with a 3.72 ERA and has only blown one save this postseason.
The Rangers also will have former starting pitchers such as Jon Gray, Andrew Heaney and Dane Dunning available to bolster their bullpen. Jose Leclerc, Aroldis Chapman and Josh Sborz have been the Rangers’ go-to relievers and so far they have pitched well overall.
Diamondbacks: Arizona’s bullpen has five wins and no losses in the postseason with a 2.94 ERA and hit its stride at the best possible moment. In NLCS Games 6 and 7 against a dominant Phillies lineup, the Diamondbacks bullpen did not allow a run in nine innings. Diamondbacks’ closer Paul Sewald has been locked giving 0 runs in eight innings and going 6-for-6 in save opportunities.
At the plate
The Rangers have lived off big home runs while the Diamondbacks have constantly manufactured runs.
Rangers: The Rangers have six players with multiple home runs in the playoffs but have maintained plate discipline with the most walks and the third-highest batting average in the postseason. The Rangers have five games this postseason scoring seven or more runs and are leading the postseason in runs scored with 71.
Diamondbacks: The Diamondbacks are not as prolific as an offense as the Rangers scoring 51 runs throughout the postseason but the team excels at manufacturing runs and situational hitting. Arizona also excelled in clutch situations with the second-highest postseason batting average after the seventh inning.
Superstars
Rangers: Josh Jung, Adolis Garcia and Corey Seager have led the way for the Rangers offense this postseason, but are waiting for Marcus Semien to get back on track. Semien is batting .192 with zero home runs and two RBIs and must play better for the Rangers to win the World Series. Rookie sensation Evan Carter has been better than the Ranger could’ve hoped, hitting .308 in the playoffs.
Diamondbacks: Arizona has its own superstar rookie, Corbin Carroll who is the odds-on favorite to win NL Rookie of the Year and has led the team in RBIs (9) and is second in home runs (3) during the postseason. NLCS MVP Ketel Marte has been excellent at the plate batting .358 with two home runs, seven RBIs and six runs scored.
Managers
Rangers: Bruce Bochy is regarded as one of the greatest managers in MLB history and will be in his fifth World Series and is looking to improve on his 3-1 record. Bochy is known throughout his career as a great manager of the bullpen and that has proved true during the Rangers run to the World Series.
Diamondbacks: Torey Lovullo has been the Diamondbacks manager since 2017 and played eight years in the Majors for seven different teams. This is Louvullo’s second playoff stint as manager (2017) and his first time in the World Series.
This story was originally published October 25, 2023 at 10:52 AM.
