Down, but Not Out - World Series Game 1 Recap / Game 2 Preview

We've been here before. 

The Snakes dropped game one, but instead of seeing Gallen get crushed and chased early like in game 1 of the NLCS, we were treated to a decent outing by Zac through 5 innings and 3 earned runs. Instead, we saw our otherwise stalwart bullpen return to midseason form (i.e. a pumpkin). Paul Sewald gave up the tying 2-run homer to the red-hot Corey Seager in the 9th. That put Miguel Castro in the uncomfortable position to keep a ball inside the park with ALCS MVP Adolis Garcia.

Reader, it did not go well. 

The Snakes were walked off in dramatic fashion.

Game one might have been an exciting start to an entertaining series for everyone but us. Until the bottom of the 9th, the D-Backs seemed to be cruising to a 5-3 victory. They continued to play their game their way inside the hostile Globe Life Field. They quickly answered Texas' 1st inning runs with 3 in the 3rd. Pham blasted one in the 4th and Perdomo combined with Marte to manufacture a run in the 5th. Steals, bunts, and shutdown innings from the bullpen.

2023 D-Backs baseball. 

Then it was time...

But not for Paul Sewald. Not the Paul Sewald who went 4-4 in save situations in the NLCS. An imposter Paul came in and walked the leadoff hitter.

What happened next will haunt us for a while, so no need to rehash it here.

What Torey is probably telling the guys is, shake it off. Tomorrow it's 0-0. Let's win the next one.

Game 2.

The D-Backs face a tall order against Jordan Montgomery. He's essentially been the Ranger's ace, starting game 1 of the ALCS. In 25 innings pitched this postseason Montgomery is riding a 2.16 ERA.

However, if the Snakes can maintain their identity they can cause some chaos versus Montgomery. He does not hold runners well. According to baseball-reference.com, he wears a 93% stolen base percentage, with only 1 of 14 steal attempts this year resulting in a caught-stealing. Our speedsters should seek 1st base by any means and look to swipe 2nd as often as they can.

One glaring weakness I was disappointed to see carryover from the last series is Christian Walker's frozen bat. 0-4, 1 BB, 3 K. Walker is an automatic out at this point and the two days off since the end of the CS have not helped him see the ball any better. The third-inning rally was put to a stop with Moreno and Walker striking out. Moreno uncharacteristically went 0-5. Tommy Pham was the only one of the 3-5 hole hitters who got a hit, a home run in the 4th. Our lineup needs more production out of the heart of the order to keep us in this series.

Mert will be on the bump for us. This Texas team has seen very little of Merrill as he did not pitch in our regular season series. Austin Hedges and Corey Seager have seen him the most, going a combined 0-15 in their career versus Kelly. It's hard to say what we can expect from Merrill, as he locked down the Dodgers in NLDS game 1, but got touched for 4 ER in Philly in NLCS game 2. Hopefully, we'll see more of the Merrill Kelly we saw in NLCS game 6. This time though, I expect Torey to let him ride a hot start longer than he did in that game, removing him after 5 IP since we had to dig into our bullpen early tonight.

That said, let's go Snakes! Let's get 'em tomorrow boys.