It's Game 3 of the World Series, and the Arizona Diamondbacks and Texas Rangers are headed to Phoenix. The series is tied at 1-1, with the Dbacks coming off of a 9-1 rout of the Rangers in front of a home crowd in Arlington.
Rookie Brandon Pfaadt get his first World Series start and fourth of the postseason. He's been stellar throughout his appearances, with a 2.70 ERA, second only to fellow starter Merrill Kelly with a 2.25, and about 12 K/9. Manager Torey Lovullo has been more careful with Pfaadt than Zac Gallen and Kelly; despite his good work, he only has 16 2/3 innings to Gallen's 27 1/3 and Kelly's 24, and we'll have to wait to see if Lovullo lets him off the leash to go longer than the 4 innings he currently averages.
Arizona Diamondbacks lineup for World Series Game 3 (October 30, 2023)
This Diamondbacks lineup features only one change from Game 2: Corbin Carroll and Ketel Marte switch places, with Carroll batting leadoff. Arizona's lineups have looked more or less the same throughout the postseason, with the Carroll/Marte switch being the most common variation. They'll be leading off against Max Scherzer, whose two performances in the postseason have been unsteady at best.
Player | Position |
|---|---|
Corbin Carroll (L) | RF |
Ketel Marte (S) | 2B |
Gabriel Moreno (R) | C |
Christian Walker (R) | 1B |
Tommy Pham (R) | DH |
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (R) | LF |
Alek Thomas (L) | CF |
Evan Longoria (R) | 3B |
Geraldo Perdomo (S) | SS |
Brandon Pfaadt | RHP |
On Saturday, the Dbacks were able to win by playing their brand of baseball, which is to say with a lot of contact and only a sprinkle of power. After Gabriel Moreno homered in the 4th to start the scoring, the Dbacks scored their next eight runs on six singles. They had 16 hits altogether, with DH Tommy Pham enjoying a four hit day, and all nine in the starting lineup getting at least one.
Scherzer is still a strike thrower, and the Diamondbacks will be looking to capitalize on the mistakes he's been more prone to making as of late. If anything gets left in the zone, Arizona should be on top of it.