The 2023 World Series is tied through two games after the Texas Rangers suffered a 9-1 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks in Game 2 at Globe Life Field on Saturday night.
Unlike many of the Rangers’ games this postseason, this game was a pitchers’ duel in the early innings as Texas starter Jordan Montgomery and Arizona starter Merrill Kelly overpowered the opposing lineups.
Montgomery pitched into the seventh inning but did not record a strikeout and was outdueled by Kelly, who held Texas without a hit for three-and-two-thirds innings. The Texas bullpen tried to keep the Rangers in the game but gave up its first runs of the series.
Arizona catcher Gabriel Moreno opened the scoring with a home run off Montgomery in the top of the fourth inning, and the Diamondbacks added another run to take a 2-0 lead later in the inning.
Texas outfielder Evan Carter came up with the Rangers’ first hit of the ballgame with a single in the fourth, extending his on-base streak. However, the Rangers did not get on the scoreboard until the fifth, when Mitch Garver sent a 1-1 pitch from Kelly over the left field wall.
Kelly rebounded by striking out the side in the sixth and got more run support in the seventh as Arizona developed a 4-1 lead with a couple of two-out hits off Andrew Heaney and Dane Dunning. The Diamondbacks added three more runs in the eighth and two more in the ninth to run away with a 9-1 victory and tie the series as it moves to Phoenix for the next three games.
Kelly finished the game with nine strikeouts through seven innings and allowed just three hits.
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WHAT TO KNOW
— The Diamondbacks beat the Rangers in Game 2 of the World Series to tie the series 1-1 as it heads to Phoenix for the next three games. The team that wins three more games first will win the championship.
— This is the first time the Rangers have been tied through two games of a series this postseason. They swept the Tampa Bay Rays and Baltimore Orioles in the first two rounds and led the Houston Astros 2-0 in the American League Championship Series.
— Montgomery is the first starting pitcher to pitch at least six innings in a World Series start without striking out a batter since Atlanta’s Greg Maddux in 1996.
— Carter has reached base safely in 14 consecutive games.
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BY THE NUMBERS
— The Rangers scored fewer than two runs for the first time this postseason and managed just four hits.
—  The Texas bullpen went eight innings in the series without allowing a run before Ketel Marte’s RBI single in the eighth. The hit gave Marte an 18-game postseason hitting streak, setting the MLB record for the longest to begin a career.
— Carter, Corey Seager, and Adolis Garcia were a combined 1-for-10 in Game 2,  just a day after going 6-for-14 and accounting for five of the Rangers’ six runs in Game 1.
— Arizona was 6-for-14 with runners in scoring position, while Texas was 0-for-1 and did not have an at-bat with a runner in scoring position until the bottom of the ninth inning.
— The Rangers are 2-4 at home during the playoffs and 8-0 on the road.
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NEXT UP
— Texas and Arizona have a travel day on Sunday and will play Game 3 of the World Series at 7:03 p.m. CT on Monday in Phoenix.
