Rangers set sights on the road after bats go cold in Game 2

ARLINGTON -- It’s a familiar sound, the crack of the bat and the fireworks at Globe Life Field as a Rangers hitter touches second base on their trip around the bases.

But in Game 2 of the World Series on Saturday night, the sold-out crowd in Arlington longed for more fireworks and home run music.

The Rangers no doubt have a powerful lineup. They led the American League in OPS (.789) and tied for the lead in homers (233) in the regular season as they slugged their way to the playoffs. But despite the clear theme, they’ve tried hard not to make that the identity of the team. Pass the baton, get it to the next guy, don’t try to be the hero -- all are phrases echoed throughout the Rangers’ clubhouse all season long.

But following a day when Corey Seager and Adolis García delivered two of the biggest homers in Rangers history, the offense could hardly muster a baserunner against Merrill Kelly. The D-backs starter manhandled the Rangers all night long, beginning with three perfect frames and finishing with seven innings of one-run, three-hit ball as Texas fell, 9-1, in Game 2 of the World Series.

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“He stayed out of the middle,” said Marcus Semien, who went 1-for-4 in the loss. “He’s a guy who can do a lot of things with the baseball -- cut it, sink it, changeup. His fastball is good. You have to respect it. We tried to do our best, get good pitches to hit, but he didn’t give us any. They had a good night tonight. So you learn from it. I’m sure we’ll see him again and come back better next time.”

Kelly retired the first 11 batters he faced before a fourth-inning single by Evan Carter. He finished his night retiring the last seven batters he faced after an infield single from Josh Jung in the fifth inning.

In all, the Rangers recorded just four hits, one of which was a solo homer from Mitch Garver, while the other three were singles. They drew just one walk in the ninth inning from García. The basepaths were virtually bare for the first time in weeks.

Rangers hitters emphasized that Kelly made his living on the edges all night long, leaving the high-powered offense unable to get much to hit.

“Yeah, I mean, hitting is the hardest thing to do in the world,” Carter said. “I mean, if a pitcher does his job, he should get you out the majority of the time. That's his job -- he hit his spots and kudos to him.”

Meanwhile, the D-backs ran all over Texas pitching, knocking out 16 hits and laying down three sacrifice bunts, illustrating the biggest difference in the two clubs’ styles of play.

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The D-backs are the first team with three sacrifice bunts in a World Series game since the Cardinals in Game 5 of the 2011 Fall Classic in Arlington. The Rangers haven’t laid one down since Sept. 14, which was their 10th of the year.

Arizona’s 16 hits are the most in a World Series game since the Giants did so in 2014. Of the 16 hits, only four went for extra bases: a Gabriel Moreno home run, two Tommy Pham doubles and another double from Alek Thomas.

“That’s why they’re here,” said Rangers catcher Jonah Heim. “They take what they’re given. They extend innings, and they do damage when they can. At the end of the day, they’re just going to take their singles and keep on moving. It’s for us to make an adjustment.”

Rangers starter Jordan Montgomery, arguably the club’s most consistent pitcher down the stretch, labored through six-plus innings of work and allowed four runs.

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His velocity was down across the board, and he induced just two swings and misses with no strikeouts. His two whiffs were the fewest he's had in a start of at least three innings in his career, as he became just the 13th pitcher to complete a World Series start going six or more innings with no punchouts.

“I thought he pitched great,” Heim said. “Just pretty much one or two mistakes that hurt us, but other than that, I thought he pitched pretty well.”

The Rangers now head west to Arizona, looking to regain their footing with the World Series tied at one game a piece. A road trip may be exactly what Texas needs.

The Rangers are 8-0 on the road this postseason, clinching both the AL Wild Card Series and the ALCS away from home.

“So what? It’s 1-1,” first baseman Nathaniel Lowe said. “We’re going to enjoy the off-day, have a good practice tomorrow and get ready for Game 3. I don’t want to say anything, but we’ve got a good thing going [on the road].

“It’s a seven-game set. We'd be naive to think that we're going to run away with four in a row against a team that really fights, like we did. They had to go through the Wild Card round and then all the way through and they're here. It's a resilient bunch over there, but we're pretty confident in our group, too.”