Diamondbacks' late rally falls flat, lose Game 4 of World Series to Texas Rangers
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The Diamondbacks needed just two innings for Game 4 to fall apart, and three innings for it to descend into the disastrous. From there on, there was nothing else to do but play out the string on an 11-7 loss to the Rangers, one that puts them in need of a miracle to win the World Series.
Only six teams in MLB history have reversed a 3-1 World Series deficit, which is what the Diamondbacks now face.
Without a viable fourth starting pitcher, Torey Lovullo turned to a bullpen game, as he did in Game 4 of the NLCS. In that game, the Diamondbacks were able to claw out a 6-5 win. This time, they trailed 10-0 after three innings.
In the second inning, Joe Mantiply, Miguel Castro and Kyle Nelson combined to allow five runs. In the third, Nelson and Luis Frías combined to allow five more, though all were unearned after an error from Christian Walker. Ryne Nelson put out the fire, working 5 1/3 innings of one-run ball in relief.
The Diamondbacks scraped one run across on a Lourdes Gurriel Jr. sacrifice fly in the fourth inning and four more in the eighth, when Tommy Pham hit a sacrifice fly and Gurriel hit a three-run home run. In the ninth, they added two more runs on a Gabriel Moreno single and even prompted the Rangers to turn to closer José Leclerc.
But thanks to their pitching effort, it was still nowhere near enough.
—Theo Mackie
Diamondbacks finally show life with late HR, still trail big
It only took eight innings, but the sellout crowd of 48,388 at Chase Field finally got something to cheer about. Down 11-2, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. cranked a three-run home run to left field, cutting the Rangers’ lead over the Diamondbacks to 11-5.
With one out in the inning, Corbin Carroll, Gabriel Moreno and Christian Walker hit consecutive singles. Tommy Pham drove one run in with a well-struck sacrifice fly to right field and Gurriel delivered the big hit of the inning with his home run.
The Diamondbacks, though, remain firmly in miracle territory, needing six runs in the ninth inning to undo the damage done by their relievers in the first three innings.
—Theo Mackie
Diamondbacks get on the board, still trail big vs. Rangers
Lourdes Gurriel Jr.’s sacrifice fly to right gave the Diamondbacks their first run of the night, but they missed a chance to add multiple runs in the bottom of the fourth inning.
They trail the Rangers, 10-1, after four innings in Game 4 of the World Series, and look certain to fall behind, 3-1, in this best-of-seven series.
Gabriel Moreno (walk) and Christian Walker (double) reached to open the inning, putting runners on second and third with nobody out.
But Tommy Pham struck out ahead of Gurriel’s sacrifice fly, and Alek Thomas bounced out to end the inning.
—Nick Piecoro
Rangers destroying Diamondbacks in Game 4
Game 4 of the World Series has gone from bad to awful for the Diamondbacks. They trail the Rangers, 10-0, in the third inning.
Without a fourth viable starting pitcher, manager Torey Lovullo had no choice but to turn to a bullpen game. The concept worked well in the NLCS, but this time, his relievers combined to allow 10 runs before the third inning was up.
After scoring five times in the second, the Rangers added five more in the third. Josh Jung and Nathaniel Lowe hit one-out singles, chasing Kyle Nelson and bringing Luis Frias into the game. Jonah Heim then reached when Christian Walker fumbled a grounder to first base. After Leody Taveras struck out, the Diamondbacks were made to pay for that error.
Travis Jankowski hit a two-out double to score two runs. A batter later, Marcus Semien hit a three-run home run out to left field, making it 10-0. All 10 of the Rangers' runs have scored with two outs.
—Theo Mackie
Corey Seager’s homer extends Rangers’ lead
Corey Seager greeted reliever Kyle Nelson by blasting a two-run homer to right field, capping what has been a five-run second inning for the Texas Rangers. They lead the Diamondbacks, 5-0, after 1 1/2 innings in Game 4 of the World Series.
It makes for a precarious position for the Diamondbacks, who are in danger of falling behind 3-1 in this best-of-seven series.
The home run was Seager’s third of the World Series.
The Diamondbacks had just removed reliever Miguel Castro in favor of Nelson, the idea being to match up a left-handed reliever against Seager.
The move did not work. After falling behind, 1-0, Nelson spun a slider over the plate and Seager knocked it out to right-center field.
—Nick Piecoro
Marcus Semien’s two-run triple adds to Rangers’ lead
Marcus Semien laced a two-run triple into the left-field corner in the top of the second innings, and the Rangers have an early 3-0 lead over the Diamondbacks in Game 4 at Chase Field on Tuesday night.
The Rangers’ Josh Jung led off the second with a double into the right-center field gap off lefty Joe Mantiply, who then struck out Nathaniel Lowe before giving way to the first reliever of the night, right-hander Miguel Castro.
Castro got Jonah Heim to bounce out, moving Jung to third, and had a 2-2 count on Leody Taveras before spiking a change-up, a pitch that got by catcher Gabriel Moreno, allowing Jung to score from the third.
Castro then walked Taveras, gave up a single to Jankowski and the triple to Semien, who hooked a 1-2 slider down the left-field line.
—Nick Piecoro
Ketel Marte extends record hitting streak
Ketel Marte did not need long to extend his MLB record postseason hitting streak. On just the fourth pitch the Rangers threw Tuesday night, Marte — the Diamondbacks’ lead-off hitter — hit a sharp single up the middle.
Marte has now recorded a hit in all 20 postseason games of his career. Previously, the longest postseason hit streak was a three-way tie at 17. Marte is batting .343 in these playoffs.
The Diamondbacks and Rangers are tied at 0-0. Joe Mantiply served as the Diamondbacks’ opener and worked a scoreless top of the first.
—Theo Mackie
DBacks’ Emmanuel Rivera gets start at third base in Game 4
After coming off the Diamondbacks’ bench to deliver hits in each of the past two games, Emmanuel Rivera finds himself in the lineup, starting at third base, in Game 4 of the World Series on Tuesday night.
Rivera had a hit and a walk in the Diamondbacks’ Game 2 win. He had a pinch-hit double and scored a run in the eighth inning of Game 3.
The Rangers are giving the ball to left-hander Andrew Heaney to start, though they could maneuver into the bullpen relatively early since Heaney has not thrown more than 56 pitches in any of his four postseason appearances.
As such, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo hit for Rivera if the right match-up presents itself, perhaps in the form of the left-handed hitting Pavin Smith.
This will be Rivera’s fourth start of the postseason but the first time he has been in the lineup in place of third baseman Evan Longoria. In Rivera’s other three starts, he started at third while Longoria was at designated hitter.
The rest of the Diamondbacks’ lineup is as follows:
1. Ketel Marte, 2B; 2. Corbin Carroll, RF; 3. Gabriel Moreno, C; 4. Christian Walker, 1B; 5. Tommy Pham, DH; 6. Lourdes Gurriel Jr., LF; 7. Alek Thomas, CF; 8. Emmanuel Rivera, 3B; 9. Geraldo Perdomo, SS.
—Nick Piecoro
Rangers OF Adolis García out for Game 4
The Texas Rangers are holding outfielder Adolis García out of the lineup for Game 4 of the World Series on Tuesday.
García left Game 3 on Monday with left-side tightness. He was the MVP of the ALCS with eight home runs and 22 RBIs. He hit a walk-off home run to win Game 1 of the World Series in 11 innings. He is batting .323 in the postseason.
World Series schedule, results
Game 1: Rangers 6, Diamondbacks 5
Game 2: Diamondbacks 9, Rangers 1
Game 3: Rangers 3, Diamondbacks 1; Texas leads series 2-1
Game 4: Rangers at Diamondbacks, 5 p.m.: Diamondbacks LHP Joe Mantiply (2-0, 4.26) vs. Rangers LHP Andrew Heaney (0-0, 6.00).
Game 5: Rangers at Diamondbacks, 5 p.m.: Diamondbacks RHP Zac Gallen (2-2, 5.27) vs. Rangers RHP Nathan Eovaldi (4-0, 3.52).
x-Game 6: Diamondbacks at Rangers, 5 p.m.: Diamondbacks RHP Merrill Kelly (3-1, 2.25) vs. Rangers LHP Jordan Montgomery (3-1, 2.90).
x-Game 7: Diamondbacks at Rangers, 5 p.m.: Diamondbacks RHP Brandon Pfaadt (0-0, 2.70)* vs. Rangers RHP Max Scherzer (0-1, 9.45)*.
x-if necessary; *-stats entering Monday
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Rangers dominate Diamondbacks in Game 4 win, lead World Series 3-1
