A tale of two hittings: Timely knocks separate Rangers, D-backs

PHOENIX -- It was perhaps fitting that the Rangers clinched the 2023 World Series title on a night when the D-backs not only had constant traffic on the bases, but Texas didn't have a baserunner until the fifth -- and went without a hit until the seventh.

But at the end of the day, the Rangers made the most of nearly every opportunity in their 5-0 win in Game 5 at Chase Field on Wednesday night. Arizona, meanwhile, did not.

The D-backs put their leadoff man on base in each of the first three innings against Rangers starter Nathan Eovaldi. Their best chance came in the third, when Corbin Carroll roped a leadoff single and Ketel Marte followed with a walk.

Gabriel Moreno dropped down his first career sacrifice bunt -- a decision he made on his own -- to put runners on second and third with one out. Christian Walker then struck out, and Tommy Pham grounded out to shortstop Corey Seager to end the threat.

"I came up twice in pretty big situations," said Pham, who also grounded out with two on and two outs to end the first. "First time, Nate made a good pitch on me. Second time, just bad luck. Hardest ball I've hit all year and I'm getting out."

Pham's 114.4 mph one-hop rocket to Seager in the third wasn't just his hardest hit this year -- it was the hardest-hit ball of his career.

"That's how the game is sometimes," Pham said.

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Unfortunately, that's how the game went for Arizona's entire offense with the season on the line. The D-backs finished 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position and left 11 men on base, including seven in scoring position.

Those seven runners stranded in scoring position are the most by any team in a single game in World Series history, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

"I feel like, had we scored some early runs, it would have been a little bit of a different outcome," said D-backs manager Torey Lovullo. "But we didn't."

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Meanwhile, the Rangers didn't have a hit off Zac Gallen until Seager poked a dribbler through the left side against the shift to lead off the seventh. Texas immediately made the most of the opportunity, with rookie Evan Carter following with a double before Mitch Garver drove in Seager with an RBI single.

“Kind of a crazy game,” Marcus Semien said. “You’re getting no-hit until the [seventh]. Gallen was unbelievable tonight. But we came through.”

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The D-backs did not.

"We just couldn't find that big knock," Lovullo said. "That's the difference in the game today. They did and we didn't."

If that sounds familiar, it's because Lovullo said something similar after Arizona's 3-1 loss in Game 3.

"It's a game of capitalizing on the right pitch at the right time," Lovullo said then. "And sometimes, it's with two outs, and we just didn't get that job done today. They did. And that was the difference in a game."

It was also the difference in the series.

Going back to Game 1, Seager came through with a monumental game-tying two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth. Adolis García walked it off with a solo drive two innings later. All while just one of the D-backs' final 18 batters reached base.

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One night later, the D-backs went a remarkable 6-for-14 with runners in scoring position in a 9-1 rout to even the series.

But those big hits would not come again.

In Texas' 3-1 win in Game 3, the Rangers scored all three of their runs with two outs in the third inning. The D-backs went 2-for-7 with RISP -- and one of those two hits resulted in Christian Walker being thrown out at plate.

Texas' two-out magic continued in Game 4, when the Rangers plated five two-out runs in the second inning, capped by Semien's two-run triple and Seager's two-run homer. They tacked on five more runs one inning later -- again, all with two outs.

The D-backs actually outhit the Rangers, 12-11, in that 11-7 loss. Texas’ hits were simply more timely.

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Case in point: The Rangers had four two-out home runs with men on base in the five-game World Series. The only team with more in a single World Series was the 1956 Yankees, who hit five in seven games (including three from Yogi Berra).

Overall, the Rangers had 10 two-out homers with men on base this postseason. The 11 other teams combined for six. The D-backs had just one -- and that came while trailing 11-2 in the eighth inning of Game 4.

"It's a group effort," Seager said. "The ability for us to have a pass-the-baton mentality all year. We talked about it in Spring Training. ... We said, 'You don't always have to be the guy that day,' which is stress-relieving."