The Weekly Rundown 10/22/23 - 10/29/23
Catch up on all of the LCS and World Series action.
Good morning and as always, Happy Sunday!
It was an incredible week in baseball with both LCS coming down to Game 7. Both underdogs took care of business as the Texas Rangers defeated the Houston Astros and the Arizona Diamondbacks upset the Philadelphia Phillies to set the stage for a World Series matchup no one anticipated.
The first two games of the series were played on Friday and Saturday, so we’ll get to those below. First, if you missed my World Series preview and prediction article, you can check that out here. And if you’re interested in more content delivered straight to your e-mail inbox, you can subscribe below.
Now, let’s jump in…
Rangers Take Down Astros
The Astros struck first with a run in the bottom of the first inning — a Yordan Alvarez RBI single off Rangers starter Nathan Eovaldi. Texas responded in the following frame as designated hitter Mitch Garver smacked a solo homer off Astros hurler Framber Valdez.
Rangers catcher Jonah Heim added to the lead with a two-run homer in the fourth. Houston got a sac fly in the sixth, but it was all Texas from there.
Garver knocked in another run with a double in the eighth, then the Rangers tacked on five more runs for good measure in the ninth as Adolis Garcia continued his outstanding postseason with a grand slam.
Game 6 Result: Rangers 9, Astros 2
The Rangers picked up where they left off with three runs off Cristian Javier in the top of the first inning of Game 7. Corey Seager clubbed a solo homer, Adolis Garcia stayed hot with an RBI single, and Garver made it 3-0 with a knock of his own. Houston answered with one run, a Jose Abreu RBI single, in the bottom of the frame.
Adolis Garcia had himself another moment in the third when he crushed an opposite-field solo shot. Astros star Alex Bregman evened things out with his own solo homer in the bottom of the inning.
Texas took control of the game in the fourth, tallying four runs on an Evan Carter two-run double, then a two-run single from that Garcia guy again. Nathaniel Lowe piled on with a two-run homer in the sixth, and yeah, you get the point. This turned into a rout.
Game 7 Result: Rangers 11, Astros 4
DBacks Finish Off Phillies
Most of the action in this one came in the second inning. The Diamondbacks quieted the rowdy Citizens Bank Park crowd with three runs off Phillies ace Aaron Nola — back-to-back solo homers from Tommy Pham and Lourdes Gurriel, then an RBI double by Evan Longoria. Brandon Marsh put Philly on the board in the bottom of the frame with an RBI single.
DBacks starter Merrill Kelly and the bullpen shut down the Phillies lineup from that point on. Arizona tacked on two insurance runs late, both courtesy of Ketel Marte (RBI triple and RBI single).
Game 6 Result: Diamondbacks 5, Phillies 1
Christian Walker put Arizona on the board first in Game 7 with an RBI single in the first inning off Ranger Suarez. The following inning, Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm answered with a solo bomb off DBacks rookie Brandon Pfaadt to get the home crowd into it.
Bryson Stott’s RBI double put the Phillies up one in the fourth, but that would be the final run of Philadelphia’s 2023 season.
Diamondbacks rookie phenom Corbin Carroll tied the game back up with an RBI single in the fifth. He scored on a Gabriel Moreno go-ahead single, then struck again with a sac fly in the seventh for the insurance run.
Game 7 Result: Diamondbacks 4, Phillies 2
World Series Games 1 and 2
Rangers rookie Evan Carter knocked in the first run of the 2023 World Series, an RBI double off DBacks ace Zac Gallen in the first inning. ALCS MVP Adolis Garcia carried his momentum into Game 1 with an RBI single to make it a quick 2-0 Texas lead.
Arizona broke through against Rangers righty Nathan Eovaldi in the third. Corbin Carroll tied it up at 2-2 with a two-run triple, then Ketel Marte smacked one to first that scored the speedy Carroll from third base.
Gallen walked Mitch Garver with the bases loaded to tie the game back up at three in the bottom of the third inning. Tommy Pham quickly put the DBacks back ahead with a solo shot in the fourth, then Ketel Marte widened the lead to two runs with an RBI double in the fifth.
It stayed 5-3 until the ninth, when Corey Seager came through with a game-tying two-run homer off Diamondbacks closer Paul Sewald. That moment was only topped by — you guessed it — Adolis Garcia, who walked it off with an opposite-field homer in the 11th.
Game 1 Result: Rangers 6, Diamondbacks 5 - Rangers lead series, 1-0
DBacks catcher Gabriel Moreno got the party started in Game 2 with a fourth-inning homer off Rangers lefty Jordan Montgomery. Lourdes Gurriel put Arizona up by two with an RBI single a few batters later.
In the fifth inning, Mitch Garver got the Rangers on the board with a solo homer. It stayed 2-1 until the seventh, when veteran third baseman Evan Longoria hit one down the left field line for an RBI single. Longoria later scored on a Corbin Carroll base hit to widen Arizona’s lead.
Arizona added five more insurance runs over the final two innings and ended up with 16 hits in total. Ketel Marte notched a two-run single and Corbin Carroll drove in another run in the eighth. Emmanuel Rivera put the icing on the cake with a two-run base hit in the ninth.
This was another gem from DBacks starter Merrill Kelly. He finished with only one run allowed on three hits while striking out nine in seven innings.
Game 2 Result: Diamondbacks 9, Rangers 1 - Series tied, 1-1
Quick Takeaways
This is Adolis Garcia’s postseason, but let’s not overlook the rookies. Evan Carter and Josh Jung have been outstanding for the Rangers as well. And on the DBacks’ side, Corbin Carroll has found his groove after a slow start to the playoffs. The future is bright for baseball.
Why does it still feel like Nathan Eovaldi doesn’t get enough credit for being a postseason great? He’s a guy you can feel confident in every single time he takes the mound in the postseason. Those types of starters are few and far between in October. He’s somehow still criminally underrated.
It’s remarkable the DBacks have made it this far despite Zac Gallen pitching the way that he has. He was OK in Game 1 of the World Series, but otherwise, he’s given Arizona way less than it hoped to get out of its ace. Thankfully, Merrill Kelly and rookie Brandon Pfaadt have stepped up along with the bullpen.
We’re still waiting for Marcus Semien to have a moment in these playoffs. I feel like it’s coming soon.
Rapid Fire
Longtime MLB manager Bob Melvin is leaving the San Diego Padres but staying in the NL West. He was named the San Francisco Giants’ new manager, replacing the recently fired Gabe Kapler. Both Melvin and Giants president Farhan Zaidi are signed through 2026.
The Boston Red Sox hired former MLB pitcher Craig Breslow as their new chief baseball officer. Breslow has served in the Chicago Cubs’ front office as an assistant GM/vice president of pitching.
After falling to the Rangers in the ALCS, Astros manager Dusty Baker called it a career after 26 seasons. He finishes with a 2,183-1,862-1 record across 4,046 games as manager of the Giants (1993-2002), Chicago Cubs (2003-06), Cincinnati Reds (2008-13), Washington Nationals (2016-17) and Astros (2020-23).
The Braves signed reliever Pierce Johnson to a two-year, $14.25 million extension
The Rumor Mill
Former MLB catcher Stephen Vogt is a strong candidate to succeed Terry Francona as manager of the Cleveland Guardians, per ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
SNY’s Andy Martino reports the Padres have had preliminary trade discussions with the New York Yankees this offseason regarding slugger Juan Soto. The New York Post’s Jon Heyman refuted the report, stating the two sides haven’t talked about such a deal during the offseason but did before the 2023 trade deadline. Regardless, it’s looking like Soto is very likely to be moved sometime in the next few months.
The Cubs are also in on the Soto sweepstakes, according to Bruce Levine of 670 The Score.
Thanks for reading! By this time next week, a World Series champion will be crowned. Subscribe below to get a recap of all of the action delivered straight to your e-mail inbox.