Arizona Diamondbacks' season comes to an unceremonious end as they drop Game Five to Rangers, 5-0

The Arizona Diamondbacks’ season is over. A combination of not coming up when it matters the most and Paul Sewald breaking down after being used heavily throughout this Postseason were the leading factors and the nail in the coffin for the Diamondbacks and their 2023 World Series run.

After scoring seven runs off Texas Rangers’ pitchers in Game Four, the Diamondbacks’ offense went silent in Game Five, especially when they had a chance to score. They went 0-10 with runners in scoring position. They had a RISP and zero outs twice, and neither time said runner scored.

The Diamondbacks’ best chance to score was in the bottom of the third inning. Corbin Carroll led off the inning with a single, followed by a walk issued to Ketel Marte. In a questionable decision, Gabriel Moreno, who led the D-Backs in Postseason home runs, dropped a bunt. It was successful, but both Christian Walker nor Tommy Pham were able to come up with anything.

Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it) Zac Gallen gave the Diamondbacks exactly what he and the team needed: an outstanding outing. Gallen held the Rangers hitless for the first six innings. However, three straight hits to lead off the seventh inning off the bats of Corey Seager, Evan Carter, and Mitch Garver gave the Rangers their first run of the game. Gallen was able to get third baseman Josh Jung to strikeout, and was pulled after that. After struggling all Postseason, Gallen was able to get it together, and ended the night with 6.1 innings, one earned run allowed on three hits, just one walk, and six strikeouts.

The wheels really fell apart in the 9th inning, and what would be the final blow to the D-Backs’ chances. Paul Sewald took the mound, and proceeded to give up three straight hits, the third of which allowed two runs to score off of an Alek Thomas error. But the error would end up meaning nothing in the end, as Marcus Semien hit a two run home run, giving the Rangers a 5-0 lead, and more than enough insurance for the Rangers to win the 2023 World Series.

Now, we head into the off-season. The Diamondbacks’ season may not have ended the way we wanted it to, but it was an exciting run while it lasted. An 84-win team was able to make it to baseball’s biggest stage. We’ll see you back at Chase Field on March 28th, 2024 for Opening Day.