Heaney tabbed to start World Series Game 4 for Texas

PHOENIX -- For the second Game 4 scenario in a row, southpaw Andrew Heaney will get the start for the Rangers.

Heaney is tabbed to face fellow lefty Joe Mantiply on Tuesday as Texas looks to grow its 2-1 lead over Arizona in the World Series.

Manager Bruce Bochy reached the decision after the Rangers made four calls to the bullpen following Max Scherzer’s early exit in Game 3 on Monday. Jon Gray (three innings), Josh Sborz (one inning), Aroldis Chapman (one inning) and José Leclerc (one inning) contributed to the 3-1 victory at Chase Field.

“We were able to stay away from a lot of guys because of Jon Gray's effort and had our leverage guys out there,” Bochy said.

Heaney will look to pitch deeper into Game 4 of the World Series than he did in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series against the Astros on Oct. 19. A starter through early September of this season, the Rangers had hoped for 60-70 pitches. Heaney allowed three runs on four hits and one walk in two-thirds of an inning. A combination of Dane Dunning (2 2/3 innings), Cody Bradford (2/3 inning), Chris Stratton (1 2/3 innings), Will Smith (1 1/3 innings) and Martín Pérez (two innings) covered the rest of the game.

Heaney has pitched in relief twice since then. In Game 6 of the ALCS, he put up all zeros in one inning to help force a Game 7. Heaney most recently threw two-thirds of a frame with one hit, no runs and no walks in Texas’ World Series Game 2 loss. Overall, he is 0-0 with a 6.00 ERA across six innings in the postseason.

“We’re a deep group,” said second baseman Marcus Semien. “I think if one guy goes down, we still have Jon Gray, Heaney, Dunning, Pérez, guys who can step up if somebody goes down or has a tough start. Then we have the big boys on the back end, too. So our pitching’s in a good spot right now. I think it’s up to us to put up runs just so we can do well for those guys.”