In preparation for the exciting 2023 World Series, let’s look back at the Texas Rangers and the Arizona Diamondbacks during the season, and all the postseason events leading up to the World Series.
Wildcard Series
The first series of the postseason were the four wildcard series, where the less dominant regular season teams battled it out over a best of 3 series for a spot in the Divisional Series. Oddly, all four wildcard series were won by a sweep, meaning one team wins every game in the series. In the American League, the Twins and the Blue Jays played against each other, where the Twins won 2 in a row to move on. The Twins winning game 1 was very exciting for Minnesota, as it was the first time the Twins have won a game in the postseason since 2004. The twins have made the postseason multiple times since 2004, however they have lost 18 straight postseason games. The Rangers also beat the Rays in 2 games, advancing them to the American League Divisional Series. On the other side of the bracket, the National League Teams, the Diamondbacks, and the Brewers played each other, and the Marlins and Phillies played each other. The Diamondbacks and Phillies both won 2 games in a row to move on to the NLDS. Some of the most notable players in the wildcard series are Royce Lewis (Twins), Bo Bichette (Blue Jays), Corey Seager (Rangers), Tyler Glasnow (Rays), Corbin Carrol (Diamondbacks), Willy Adames (Brewers), Josh Bell (Marlins), and Bryson Stott (Phillies), who hit a grand slam in game two against the Marlins.
NLDS
The National League Divisional Series had some very unexpected outcomes, with both the Dodgers, and the Braves being eliminated. Both teams that were eliminated were Division leaders, and had over 100 regular season wins. The Dodgers were widely regarded as a strong team, and a feared opponent, and the Braves team had a full lineup of heavy hitters, and elite pitching. The Braves were the #1 in ESPN’s power rankings and it is clear why that is. While the Dodgers were a very strong team in the regular season, they did not put up much of a fight in the postseason. In game 1 of a best of 5 series against the Diamondbacks, Dodgers veteran pitcher, Clayton Kershaw, allowed 6 runs to score while only recording 1 out before being pulled from the game. This leaves Kershaw with a ridiculous postseason ERA of 162.0. The rest of the series did not go well either, with the Diamondbacks taking both game 2 and 3 as well to complete the sweep on the Dodgers, breaking a MLB record in the process, with 4 home runs in one postseason inning. The Braves put up more of a fight against the Philadelphia Phillies, pulling out an electric game 2 win. After being down 4-0, the Braves rallied back for 5 runs while also shutting down the Phillies offense. While they did pull off the win in game 2, the Phillies won games 1, 3, and 4, a very shocking outcome for being 14 games behind the Braves in the regular season. The clutch performance from Bryce Harper, Nick Castellanos, and Kyle Shwarber, coupled by the shutdown pitching from Ranger Suarez, Aaron Nola, and most importantly the Phillies Bullpen.
ALDS
After sweeping the Tampa Bay Rays in the wildcard series, the Texas Rangers moved on to take on the Baltimore Orioles. The Orioles won 101 games in the regular season with big names like Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson, Anthony Santander, and more. Despite having a roster full of young talent, the Rangers came out swinging and swept the series 3-0. Game 1 was a close match, and the Rangers bullpen stayed strong and kept the Orioles to 2 runs, while barely beating them out, ending the game at 3-2. In an offense heavy game 2, shortstop Corey Seager walked a total of 5 times, and Mitch Garver smacked a home run, and knocked in 5 RBI’s for the Rangers. Both sides put on the fireworks, but the Rangers pulled ahead with a 11-8 victory. With Eovaldi Pitching for the Rangers in game 3, the Orioles offense was silenced while the Rangers ended the sweep with a 7-1 win, earning their spot in the ALCS meanwhile extending their postseason win streak to 5. With the Orioles eliminated, every team with 100 wins (Dodgers, Braves, and Orioles) is out of the postseason with a combined total of only 1 win. In the series between the Houston Astros and the Minnesota Twins, the Astros won the series in 4 games, hitting 10 home runs in the process. The Astros dominated game 1 with Justin Verlander pitching 6 shutout innings, and Yordan Alvarez hitting 2 home runs. The Twins picked up game 2 with offensive support from Kyle Farmer, and Carlos Correa. Twins pitching kept the Astros sluggers to only 2 runs, allowing for a 6-2 win in game 2. The Astros win game 3, with 4 home runs, 2 of which from Jose Abreu, who has a 5 RBI game. With 9 strikeouts, and no earned runs over 5 innings, Christian Javier had a great game. Finally, the Astros finish out the series with a dominant performance from the bullpen allowing them to win on only 3 runs and move onto the ALCS against the Texas Rangers.
NLCS
The Arizona Diamondbacks pulled off a series victory in 7 games to earn their spot in the 2023 World Series. Game 1 of the NLCS went to the Phillies, with the offense being led by Bryce Harper, who went 2 for 3 with a walk and a homerun. Kyle Shwarber, and Nick Castallanos also hit home runs for the Phillies in the exciting first game of the series. The pitching matchup was expected to be dominant, with star pitchers, Zac Gallen, and Zack Wheeler going head to head. However a sub-par performance from Gallen allowed the Phillies to gain an early lead while pitching dominance from Wheeler allowed the Phillies to hold onto that lead. The game ended with a final score of 5-3 as the Phillies took the first game. Game 2 was a blowout for the Phillies, as they took an easy 2-0 lead in the series. Aaron Nola tossed a gem for the Phillies, striking out 7 and allowing no runs over his 6 inning start. While the D-Backs struggled against the Phillies pitching, their own pitchers were not very hot. A Diamondbacks bullpen meltdown allowed the Phillies offense to score 4 runs in both the 6th and 7th inning. A pair of home runs from Kyle Shwarber led the Phillies offense to a 10-0 blowout in game 2. Down 0-2 in the series, Diamondbacks rookie pitcher, Brandon Pfaadt, takes the mound and dominates. In a shut-out performance through 5 and ⅓ innings, he played a vital role for the Diamondbacks by keeping the electric Phillies offense silent in the first half of the game. Going into the bottom of the 9th with the score tied 1-1, Ketel Marte knocked in the winning run with his third hit of the night, and won the game in walkoff fashion. The D-backs win 2-1, and fight back in the series, bringing it to 2-1 still in the Phillies favor. Game 4 was full of action, with exciting rallies and home runs, along with great defensive plays. Kyle Schwarber yet again led the Philadelphia Phillies offense with a home run, his 19th career postseason home run, which gives him the title for most postseason home runs for any left handed hitter ever. With the Phillies leading by 2 in the 8th inning, pinch hitter Alek Thomas steps up to the plate with 1 runner on, and launches a ball into the swimming pool in right field of Chase Field, tying the game at 5. With a go-ahead RBI single in the same inning, the D-backs held onto the lead to beat the Phillies 6-5, tying the series at 2. The Phillies struck back in game 5, with home runs from JT Realmuto, Kyle Shwarber, and Bryce Harper, the bats were putting in work. Meanwhile, Zack Wheeler secured the win by shutting down the Diamondbacks through 7 innings, only giving up 1 run to an Alek Thomas homerun. Keeping the D-Backs at 1 earned Wheeler his spot as the games MVP. The Phillies earned back the series lead with a 6-1 victory. Going into game 6, Arizona knows its “win or go home” so they bring out their A game. D-Backs pitching only allowed 1 run to the phillies while their bats were active. Both Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Tommy Pham hit solo home runs, and Ketel Marte knocked in 2 more runs during his 2 for 5 game. Winning 5-1, the D-Backs tie the series up at 3, and force a sudden death game 7 in CItizens Bank Park. Game 7 went to the Diamondbacks. The shutdown performance from the Arizona bullpen carried them through the game to a 4-2 victory. Ketel Marte was crowned NLCS MVP due to his record setting hitting performance for the Diamondbacks. Possibly the most unexpected team to make the World Series fought against all odds in an attempt to make history this October.
- Diamondbacks win game 7
- Dbacks :
- Phillies :
- MVP –
- Earns WS spot for DBacks
ALCS
The Texas Rangers are going into the World Series coming out of a very close ALCS that went all the way to game 7. Game 1 of the ALCS was a pitching duel between Jordan Montgomery and Justin Verlander. Both pitchers made it into the 6th inning, but did not finish it. Montgomery and the Rangers bullpen shut out the Astros, and with offensive help from Leody Travis, who walked once, went 2 for 2 with a homerun, the Rangers scored 2 runs to make the final score 2-0 in the Rangers favor. Jordan Montgomery is my game 1 MVP. The Rangers win game 2 with an early first inning, 4 run rally. A Jonah Heim home run in the 3rd inning to extend the Rangers lead to 5-1 carried the Rangers to victory, as they were unable to score against the strong Houston bullpen. Despite hitting 3 home runs over the course of the game, 2 courtesy of Yordan Alverez, the Astros could not score more than 4 runs and game 2 fell to the Texas Rangers with Rangers Nathan Eovaldi picking up the win with the final score of 5-4. As the series moves to Globe Life Field, the Rangers home field, the Astros were able to put an end to the Rangers postseason win streak. After winning 7 straight games, the Rangers pitching was not able to pull through, with the Starter, Max Scherzer, giving up 5 runs over 4 innings, and the bullpen allowing another 3 runs over the remaining 5. The Astros offense was alive in game 3, with Maruicio Dubon going 3 for 4 and a Jose Altuve dinger along with rallies and hits throughout the whole lineup. The Rangers were not able to keep up with the runs the Astros were scoring, however, Josh Jung had an amazing day at the dish, sending 2 balls over the fence and scoring 4 out of 5 Rangers runs. The final score was 8-5 allowing Christian Javier to pick up the win for the Astros. The Houston Astros started a hot streak, winning both games 4 and 5 as well. In game 4, the Rangers were able to put 3 runs on the board, 2 of which courtesy of Coreay Seager and Adolis Garcia, who both went 2 for 4 with a solo home run. Unfortunately for the Rangers, the Astros offense was on fire. The Game 4 star player for the Astros is Jose Abreu, who walked twice and hit a homerun, and ended his game with 3 RBIs. Some other notable bats for the Astros were Yordan Alverez, Chas McCormick, and Jose Altuve. Importantly, the Astros bullpen kept the Rangers scoreless after the starting pitcher Jose Urquidy allowed 3 runs by the third inning. Without such dominance, the Rangers could have easily scored 10 or more runs, and kept on par with the Astros. The game’s final score was an Astros blowout of 10-3, and they are still winning. Game 5 went in the Astros favor as well, taking their third straight game against the Rangers in their home field. This game was much closer however. Adolis Garcia continues to dominate for the Rangers, hitting a clutch 3 run homerun. As the tensions rise between the 2 texas teams, benches clear after Bryan Abreu hits Adolis Garcia with an up and in fastball only one at bat after his clutch home run. Umpires decided the pitch was intentional, and ejected Astros pitcher Bryan Abreu and Astros manager Dusty Baker. Adolis Garcia was also ejected from the game after physically confronting the catcher. When the 9th inning rolls around, the Astros are down by 2 runs and they show out. Jose Altuve hits a go-ahead 3 run homerun and Ryan pressly shut down the Rangers in the bottle half to secure the comeback victory with a final score of the Astros winning 5-4. The Rangers take game 6 of the series in an astounding 9-2 victory. Rangers pitching, led by Nathan Eovoldi did their job in keeping the hot hitting Astros to only 2 runs, while the Rangers hitters teed off. Adolis Garcia, again a notable player for the Rangers, hit a grand slam to blow the game wide open. Mitch Garver also hit a home run while also going 3 for 4 on the game. The Rangers successfully force a game 7, going into sudden death against the Astros in Houston. The Rangers have not lost an away game their whole postseason, and this game 7 blowout was no different. Tallying 11 runs to the Astros 4. Earning the title of ALCS MVP, Adolis Garcia again rakes for the Rangers, hitting 2 home runs, and batting in 5 RBI’s. The Rangers have proved themselves as a powerful team with heavy hitters throughout the whole lineup, and elite pitching. The Astros loss at their home field ends their season, and the unlikely Texas Rangers move on to the World Series against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The World Series
The Arizona Diamondbacks have faced some of the most powerful teams this postseason, and still came out on top. Everyone loves an underdog story, and the Diamondbacks provided it this year. The D-backs should not be underestimated though, with everything on the line, players like Ketel Marte, Corbin Caroll, Christian Walker, Andrew Saalfrank and Paul Seawald have pulled through for the Diamondbacks. The Rangers are looking for their first win in franchise history, and this lineup will stop at nothing to achieve that World Series pennant. When asked who he expects to win the World Series, Saugus High School senior and baseball enthusiast Nathan Tooma said, “I think the Rangers will beat the D-Backs.” With big bats on the team, such as Adolis Garcia, Corey Seager, Marcus Semian, and Mitch Garver it’s hard to believe that they will lose easily. With 2 teams who fought against all odds to make it to the World Series, you can expect both teams to play hard, and bring exciting games. With both the Diamondbacks and the Rangers having over 100 losses only 2 years ago, both organizations have come a long way and have a lot to fight for.
