The Arizona Diamondbacks earned a valuable one-game victory over Texas behind a strong start from starter Merrill Kelly and a balanced batting effort that saw everyone in the lineup hit.

Arizona defeated the Texas Rangers 9-1 in Game 2 of the best-of-seven World Series (WS-7) of the 2023 Major League Baseball (MLB) postseason at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, on Monday (April 29). They evened the series at 1-1.

After dropping Game 1, Arizona made up for it with an eight-run win in Game 2, while Texas had to settle for one win at home.

Game 1: Texas had the last laugh

The previous day’s Game 1 saw Texas take a 1-0 lead with a 6-5 win in 11 extra innings. Trailing 3-5 heading into the bottom of the ninth inning, it looked like they were going to lose Game 1, but Corey Seager’s two-run shot in the bottom of the ninth saved the day.

The final out came from Texas’ Adolis Garcia, who has been hitting like a champ this fall. With one out in the bottom of the 11th inning, Garcia hit a solo shot over the right field fence off Arizona’s Miguel Castro to put the game away.

From the Wild Card Series to this game, Garcia had eight home runs and 22 RBIs, a major league postseason “record” in terms of RBIs alone. It’s often said that a team needs a “crazy player” in the short game to make things happen, and Garcia is doing just that.

Starting lineups for both teams.

-Arizona: Ketel Marte (second base)-Corbin Carroll (right field)-Gabriel Moreno (catcher)-Christian Walker (first base)-Tommy Pham (designated hitter)-Lueredes Gurriel Jr. (left field)-Alex Thomas (center field)-Evan Longoria (third base)-Heraldo Perdomo (shortstop), starter Merrill Kelly.

-Texas: Marcus Semien (second base)-Cory Seager (shortstop)-Evan Carter (left field)-Adolis Garcia (right field)-Mitch Garber (designated hitter)-Jonah Heim (catcher)-Nathaniel Lowe (first base)-Josh Young (third base)-Roddy Taveras (center field), starter Jordan Montgomery.

Arizona is unchanged from the previous day, with the exception of Marte and Carroll swapping places in the batting order. Texas came out with the same lineup as the day before. 먹튀검증

After losing the first game, Arizona pinned their hopes on Kelly’s performance. The poster child for the “KBO backwards export,” Kelly was making his first postseason start since his big league debut, going 2-1 with a 2.65 ERA in three games and 17 innings leading up to the Championship Series. Arizona’s calculation was that if he could keep the runs to a minimum in this game, they would have a good chance of winning.