Jordan Hamm
After the Diamondbacks posted nine runs in Game 2 of the World Series on the road, the bats fell quiet in Game 3 in the friendly confines of Chase Field on Monday.
Brandon Pfaadt wasn’t bad. He threw into the sixth inning and gave up three runs, the big blow coming from a two-run Corey Seager home run. But the offense needed him to be perfect. That’s a tall task for any pitcher in the World Series, let alone a rookie.
The bats were quiet until Emmanuel Rivera and Geraldo Perdomo produced a run – the team’s only to cross the plate Monday night – in the 8th inning.
Arizona saw a spark in the 2nd inning when the struggling Christian Walker was greeted with a standing ovation by the crowd. He responded on the first pitch, doubling to right-center. Tommy Pham followed that up with a double of his own.
Walker took off for home, running through a late stop sign from third base coach Tony Perezchica and getting thrown out at the plate.
“I had my head down trying to make a tight turn at third, just really trying to get to the plate,” Walker said. “The last time I looked at (Perezchica), he was waving and I never saw the stop sign.”
Christian Walker runs right through the red light and Adolis Garcia guns him down! pic.twitter.com/ze0GaLCZRd
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) October 31, 2023
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. then popped up to the infield and Alek Thomas hit a ball off Max Scherzer’s flank that ricocheted to Josh Jung, who got the final out of the inning, stranding Pham at second base.
The following innings, Arizona couldn’t take advantage when Max Scherzer needed to leave the game after three innings due to back tightness. Jon Gray – the presumed Game 4 starter for Texas – came in and cruised through an additional three innings, giving up just one hit.
“We had a chance against him,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “We had a chance against Scherzer. But it’s a game of capitalizing on the right pitch at the right time. And sometimes it’s with two outs and we just didn’t get that job done today. They did. They got a two-out hit from Semien and a two-run home run from Seager. And that was the difference in the game.”
A thread of the night, especially in the 9th inning was questionable calls at the plate, specifically on catcher Gabi Moreno, who was leading off that inning. Two outside pitchers were called while he was on the verge of drawing a walk. The count went to 3-2 and he grounded out to third base.
strike pic.twitter.com/WcijZ4nvQ2
— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) October 31, 2023
“I’m not happy about it,” Lovullo said.” I know that if they were off the plate and they were missed calls, they’ve got to tighten it up. I say that to everyone.
“But I will say this, that the umps are doing their absolute best. Ball is moving at a high velocity. It’s getting manipulated at home plate. But there were some calls that didn’t go our way today. Was that the difference in the game? I don’t know. I don’t think so.”
Regardless, the Diamondbacks struggled throughout the night, but especially against Gray.
This was a bit of redemption for Gray on this field. He started the 2017 National League Wildcard game for Colorado and didn’t make it out of the 2nd inning, giving up four runs and eventually losing the single-elimination game.
Similarly, the Diamondbacks bullpen was a bright spot, throwing 3.2 innings, giving up just one hit. What was the weakness of the team early on in the season has become one of its most stable units.
That will be needed for Tuesday.
The Diamondbacks threw a bullpen game in Game 4 of the NLCS after Pfaadt’s turn in the rotation. They’ll do the same thing for the World Series with Joe Mantiply getting the start on Tuesday. The Rangers had to make some adjustments as well because Gray stepped in and pitched in Game 3. Andrew Heaney will get the start for the Rangers in Game 4.
So now the question comes down to how this team will respond after a frankly flat loss on Monday. The group that has been dubbed the “Answer-Backs” did just that after a brutal lose in Game 1, scoring nine runs to even the series in Game 2.
For much of the first World Series game played in Arizona since 2001, the team looked flat.
Who can be that jumpstart for the Diamondbacks as the bullpen will look to piece together 27 outs?
If this club doesn’t follow suit and answer back, they may not have many more chances to this year.
