DBacks lose World Series Game 1 in agonizing fashion on late Rangers homers

ARLINGTON, Texas — Corey Seager swung and launched a drive into the right-field seats, a shot that felt propelled by the ghosts of World Series past. It had been 22 years since the Diamondbacks last played a road game in the Fall Classic. The events of Friday night felt torn from the past.

Evoking memories of the Diamondbacks’ agonizing losses in New York in 2001, Seager drilled the game-tying homer in the bottom of the ninth, Adolis Garcia hit the walkoff shot in the 11th and the Texas Rangers handed the Diamondbacks a gut-wrenching 6-5 loss in Game 1 of the World Series at Globe Life Field on Friday night.

Handed a two-run lead in the ninth, Diamondbacks closer Paul Sewald issued a leadoff walk to Leody Taveras before serving up the two-run blast two batters later. Seager eviscerated an up-and-in, first-pitch fastball, sending it deep into the right-field seats.

When the ball left the bat, Sewald looked skyward and closed his eyes, not bothering to turn and watch. Seager let out a celebratory scream and spun toward his dugout as he started around the bases.

“There’s no worse feeling in this game than being the closer and blowing the save opportunity at the last second,” Sewald said. “This team battled for 8 1/2 innings and had the lead. My job is to finish games when I get in there. I did not. And it came back to bite us.”

Two innings later, the Diamondbacks met their fate. Right-hander Miguel Castro, who had just entered the game to face Garcia, fell behind in the count, 3-1, before firing a low sinker over the heart of the plate. Garcia drove it out to right field, his fifth consecutive postseason game with a homer, the second-longest streak in playoff history.

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It was a stunning conclusion for a Diamondbacks’ bullpen that to that point had been so reliable throughout the postseason, including Sewald, who had not permitted a run in eight appearances. Entering the ninth inning, Diamondbacks relievers had blown just one save and had held opposing hitters to a .203 average when pitching with the lead in October.

“Those are the kind of games that we’re used to winning,” Diamondbacks third baseman Evan Longoria said. “Especially down the stretch. Our bullpen has been really good, so it comes as more of a surprise at this point that Paulie actually gave something up. He’s been so darn good.”

The Rangers’ late-game blasts brought back Diamondbacks nightmares from 2001. In consecutive games at the old Yankee Stadium, the Diamondbacks handed the ball to their closer, Byung-Hyun Kim, only to watch him serve up game-tying home runs. In Game 4, Tino Martinez connected for a two-run shot in the bottom of the ninth. One night later, it was Scott Brosius’ turn, with Kim again coughing up a two-run homer and the lead.

On this night, the Diamondbacks had followed their usual script to get to that point in the ninth. They had manufactured runs with both speed and power. Corbin Carroll had a two-run triple. Tommy Pham connected for a solo homer. Ketel Marte extended his record postseason hitting streak to 17 games with a run-scoring double.

And after Zac Gallen turned in five serviceable innings, the bullpen, with Ryan Thompson, Joe Mantiply and Kevin Ginkel covering the sixth through eighth innings, did its job the way it had through the first three rounds of the postseason.

There were, however, signs the Diamondbacks’ pitching staff was walking more of a tightrope on Friday, namely that it issued 10 free passes on the night.

“You can't walk 10 batters in a World Series game and expect to hold them in the situation that we held them in,” manager Torey Lovullo said. “It was a matter of time before something happened, and it did.”

Sewald had far fewer regrets about the pitch Seager hit out than he did about the walk to Taveras that preceded it.

“Seager is one of the 10 best hitters in this league,” Sewald said. “You’ve just got to try to face him with nobody on there.”

Castro’s plan of attack against Garcia seemed harder to rationalize. Garcia has been among the hottest hitters in baseball this postseason, and rather than making someone else beat them, the Diamondbacks challenged him with a fastball over the plate.

“The plan was to mix up the pitches,” Castro said, speaking through interpreter Alex Arpiza. “It just didn’t work out.”

Complicit in matters was the offense. After Marte’s fifth-inning double gave them their fifth run of the night — and extended his hitting streak to 17 games, the longest such streak to start a postseason career and tied for the longest ever — the Diamondbacks managed just two hits, both singles, over the final six innings. They went 1 for 18 to finish the game.

The finish leaves the Diamondbacks in familiar territory. Ten days ago, they trailed the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League Championship Series. They wound up winning it in seven. Similarly, the 2001 Diamondbacks fell behind 3-2 after losing a pair of heartbreakers. They, too, managed to prevail.

“The series isn’t over,” Sewald said. “It’s a disappointing way to start the series. But we lost the first two in Philly and managed to win that one. We’ll have to answer back as we have all season, and now more than ever.”

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: DBacks lose World Series Game 1 on late Rangers homers