The 2023 Major League Baseball (MLB) World Series is set. It will be a battle of teams out west between the Texas Rangers and Arizona Diamondbacks. Both have written similar stories this postseason, catching fire at the right time and defeating the reigning league champion Houston Astros and Philadelphia Phillies to reach this stage. So, let’s look at each team’s postseason run and see what got them to this point.
The Texas Rangers are the five-seed coming out of the American League (AL) and appear in the World Series for the third time in franchise history. They previously made it in the 2010 and 2011 seasons but fell short both times. This time, things might end differently. This isn’t your regular five-seed, and it all starts with the hitting.
Adolis García might be the best hitter on Earth right now as his bat is scorching hot. After going down three games to two and being hit by a pitch in game five, the 30-year-old outfielder, who was already on a tear, turned it up a notch. In games six and seven, he’d launch three home runs and drive in nine runs, helping the Rangers clinch the AL pennant. Over this seven-game series, García tallied five home runs to go along with 15 runs batted in (RBI), seven runs scored and a .357 average. He may have been the star in this series, but it was a combined effort from the group who slugged 15 homers and pushed 38 runs across home plate.
For a team to make a World Series run, both sides must come together, and the Rangers have done just that. On top of a deadly group of bats, they have two prolific pitchers heading their rotation. Starting pitchers Jordan Montgomery and Nathan Eovaldi are two arms that no team wants to face right now, carrying 2.16 and 2.42 earned run averages (ERA) respectively. With such a great group, maybe this will be the year the Rangers win their first World Series.
From barely making the postseason to marching straight to the postseason, the Arizona Diamondbacks are MLB’s underdog story. It’s been a fantastic run for the National League’s (NL) lowest seed, running through a gauntlet that included the Milwaukee Brewers, Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies.
It’s been all about the pitching for the Diamondbacks this postseason, and the National League Championship Series (NLCS) was no different. The bullpen was lockdown with closer Paul Sewald continuing a perfect postseason campaign. The veteran didn’t allow a run in eight appearances, a run that included five saves and 11 strikeouts. Rookie starter Brandon Pfaadt has surprisingly led the charge for Arizona’s starters. The rookie was a breath of fresh air for a rotation that had its struggles against Philadelphia. Pfaadt stepped up, striking out 16 in his two starts. This included a game seven performance when he’d hold the Phillies to two runs in four innings en route to an NLCS clinching 4-2 win.
Second baseman Ketel Marte has been the electric bat Arizona needed to make this run. He took home NLCS MVP honors and deservedly so. The name of the game was clutch hitting for the 30-year-old. His walk-off RBI single in game three gave the team the momentum to propel them to the World Series. Likely NL Rookie of the Year outfielder Corbin Carroll is also a dangerous man. After a tremendous 2023 campaign, he backed it up in game seven of the NLCS with a three-hit, two-RBI night to help the D-Backs move on. While it’s not the driving factor in their postseason run, Arizona has clutch bats in their lineup that could give Texas pitching problems.
This year’s World Series should be a blast and baseball fans are hopeful that this one goes the distance. With exciting stars on either side, we should have some competitive games in store.
