The Arizona Diamondbacks are down to their last chance to stay alive in the 2023 World Series. After winning game two of the WS, the D-Backs have now dropped two straight games, and game four was especially rough. They are now on the back foot and will need to claw back.
After both teams ended the first inning tied by one, The Diamondbacks’ pitching struggled in the second and third innings. The D-Backs, who were running a bullpen game, saw the opener, Joe Mantiply, along with following relievers Miguel Castro and Kyle Nelson, allow five earned runs. There were three extra-base hits allowed in the second inning, including a Corey Seager home run.
The third inning didn’t go much better. Five more runs scored, capped off with a Marcus Semien three-run bomb. But it’s not entirely the pitcher’s fault. Typically, sure-handed first baseman Christian Walker made an error at first base, which caused five unearned runs to score. By the end of the third inning, the score was 10-0 Texas.
The Diamondbacks were held to just a single run through the first seven innings. The lone run scored via a Lourdes Gurriel Jr. sac-fly. However, they didn’t go into the night quietly. The Snakes erupted for four runs in the eighth inning. Tommy Pham drove in the D-Backs’ second runner of the game with a bases-loaded loaded sac-fly. But Gurriel Jr. continued his hot bat in the Postseason, cranking a three-run homer and cutting the Rangers’ lead down to 11-5.
The Snakes made the 9th inning interesting. Top shortstop prospect Jordan Lawlar led off the inning with a walk, then Geraldo Perdomo followed that up with a single. While Ketel Marte and Corbin Carroll struck out, Gabriel Moreno drove in both runners on base with a single of his own (Perdomo had taken second base on a defensive indifference). What was once an 11-1 game quickly devolved into an 11-7 game. But while the D-Backs made a valiant late-inning effort, it was for not, as Christian Walker ended the game on a pop fly in foul territory, ending the game.
It was a frustrating day for the bats. The Diamondbacks lost the game despite having more hits than the Rangers. They left six men on base, compared to the Rangers, only leaving three men stranded. Of course, it was a symphony of problems as if the pitching was even slightly better, this game may have gone significantly the D-Backs’ way.
We need Zac Gallen to step it up big time tomorrow, as he will take the ball for Game Five of the World Series in the biggest game of his career thus far. Gallen is in need of a redemption game, as he’s allowed 16 earned runs in five Postseason starts and 27.1 innings. The Rangers will send Nathan Eovaldi to the mound. While Eovaldi had been dominant for his first handful of outings, the Diamondbacks were able to tag him for five runs in just 4.2 innings. Hopefully, Gallen can regain his regular season form, and the bats can come back and the do-or-die Game Five.
It might be cliche, but as Rocky Balboa would say, "Ain't nothing over til' it's over."