The Arizona Diamondbacks and the Texas Rangers are both wild-card teams that have made it to the world series. The Diamondbacks in the regular season went 84-78 and in the regular season, the Rangers went 90-72. So far in the World Series, the two teams are tied 1-1 going to Arizona.
In game one, the Rangers tied the game up with a two-run home run by Corey Seager in the bottom of the 9th. Then in the bottom of the 11 inning, Adolias Garica hit a solo home run to win game one for the Rangers.
In game two though, the Diamondbacks dominated the Rangers 9-1. The Rangers and Diamondbacks are the 15th and 16th wild card teams to make it to the World Series.
For the Arizona Diamondbacks, nobody thought they would go this far in the postseason. After the all-star break the Diamondbacks record was 32-39, which made everyone think the Milwaukee Brewers would eliminate them in the wild card round. The Diamondbacks swept the Dodgers and Brewers and beat the Phillies in a 7-game series when they came back from a 2-game deficit. Some key players for the Diamondbacks are Tommy Pham, Lourdes Gurriel Jr, Kevin Ginkel, Alek Thomas, and their leader, Geraldo Perdomo.
However, the superstar players in the field for the Diamondbacks are Ketel Marte, Corbin Carroll, and Gabriel Moreno. Ketel Marte has an 18-game hit streak in the playoffs right now and that is the MLB record for a hit streak in the playoffs. In the NLCS against the Phillies, Marte won the MVP of that series. Corbin Caroll seemed to take over Marte as the superstar of the franchise, but this postseason Ketel Marte has been putting on a show. Corbin Carroll is a 23-year-old rookie who has already won Rookie of the Year and has already been an all-star. Carroll’s career is already off to a great start with 29 home runs in his rookie season and when he gets going it seems like you can’t keep him off base. Gabriel Moreno has made himself known in this postseason. Moreno is known for his great arm behind the plate but this postseason his hitting has gone to an extra level. Moreno made his major league debut in 2022 with the blue jays and got traded to the Diamondbacks along with Lourdes Gurriel Jr.
On the pitching side, the Diamondbacks have Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly, and Paul Sewald. Zac Gallen had a good start to the season which earned him the start in the all-star game for the NL but ever since Gallen has struggled in the regular and postseason. But when Gallen has it nobody can touch him, so he is a key part of the starting rotation. Merrill Kelly didn’t make it to the big leagues until he was 30 because the minor leagues didn’t work so he went to Korea for a couple of seasons and got picked up by the Diamondbacks. Merrill Kelly had been a key part of this postseason and he dominated the Rangers in game two, which shows when he is on it he can be scary. Paul Sewald got traded to the Diamondbacks from the Mariners and has elevated the Diamondbacks bullpen. Even though Sewald gave up the tying home run in game one, the Diamondbacks still trust him.
The Texas Rangers have spent a lot of money on players, which has worked well. This season, the Rangers had six all-stars, which is 2nd for the most, behind the Braves.
Some key players for the Rangers are Evan Carter, Jonah Heim, Mitch Garver, Josh Jung, Jordan Montgomery. The best players on the field are Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, and Adolis Garcia. Corey Seager has been in scenario when he was on the Dodgers and won the World Series and World Series MVP. Seager is at his best in the highest of moments like when he tied the game up with a two-run home run in game one. Marcus Semien has struggled this postseason but whenever he is in a slump it doesn’t last long. When Semien gets out of his slump, the Rangers offense will get even better than it is right now. Adolis Garica is on fire right now with 8 home runs in the postseason which is the most by any player this postseason. Garcia is also leading this postseason in RBI(runs batted in). In game five, Adolis Garcia got hit by a pitch from Bryan Abreu which led to the benches clearing. The two players got ejected and the umpires decided that Abreu threw at Garica on purpose. People think he threw at him on purpose because Garcia hit a home run in his previous at-bat. On the pitching side, they have Nathan Eovaldi, Max Scherzer, and Jose Leclerc. Nathan Eovaldi has the most wins in this postseason with four. Eovaldi also has the most strikeouts with 36 and is tied with the most quality starts with Zack Wheeler they are tied with four. Max Scherzer is one of the best pitchers of all time and even now he is putting up impressive numbers at the age of 39. Scherzer is just coming off a injury and hasn’t been himself this postseason. Jose Leclerc is the closer for the Rangers and is the best bullpen pitcher for the Rangers. Jose Leclerc gave up the game-winning three-run home run to Jose Altuve. Whenever the Rangers need a clutch pitcher they go to him.
The Diamondbacks are scrappy with base stealing and how they play, with not the best team unlike the talented players on the Rangers.This world series has already been a great one to watch and both teams are going to battle to win which is going to make it a fun world series for a baseball fan.
