The Fall Classic gets underway in Texas, a matchup of wild card teams both looking to keep on defying preseason projections here in late October.
It feels a bit odd here in Baltimore for the World Series to begin on a weekend featuring temperatures in the 80s. But it certainly sets a stage for a Series that will take place entirely in Arlington, Texas and Phoenix, Arizona, two pretty warm cities. You should prepare yourself for all sorts of Roof Talk™! Is the roof open? Is it closed? How will that impact home runs? Both stadiums have retractable roofs, so it’s sure to be wild times.
This Series will be a clash of styles. The Rangers are power-focused, able to score at any moment. The Diamondbacks are bit more agile, relying on speed and opportunity. Pitching has been solid for both teams to this point, although the Diamondbacks do feel a bit deeper in all aspects. It might not matter if the Rangers start hitting the ball all over the place.
World Series Game 1, 8:05 p.m. ET, FOX
RHP Zac Gallen (2-2, 5.24 ERA, 13 K) vs. RHP Nathan Eovaldi (4-0, 2.42 ERA, 28 K)
Gallen threw a career-high 210 innings during the regular season. Is the 28-year-old running out of gas in the playoffs? His fastball velocity looked fine in the NLCS, but he’s getting less movement on his secondary offerings, and it’s lead to far fewer strikeouts this postseason than he’s accustomed to. He will be working on an extra day of rest, so perhaps that helps, but the leash cannot be too long, no matter how good his regular season track record may be.
Texas has won every game that Eovaldi has started this postseason. But he looked closer to human in the ALCS, allowing five earned runs over 12.1 total innings in his two appearances. Even still, he is exactly who they want on the mound for Game 1. The Texas bullpen seems to have less depth than their Arizona counterparts, so there is some pressure on Eovaldi to get slightly deeper into the contest.
Diamondbacks Lineup
- Corbin Carroll (L) – RF
- Ketel Marte (S) – 2B
- Gabriel Moreno (R) – C
- Christian Walker (R) – 1B
- Tommy Pham (R) – DH
- Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (R) – LF
- Alek Thomas (L) – CF
- Evan Longoria (R) – 3B
- Geraldo Perdomo (S) – SS
Rangers Lineup
- Marcus Semien (R) – 2B
- Corey Seager (L) – SS
- Evan Carter (L) – LF
- Adolis García (R) – RF
- Mitch Garver (R) – DH
- Jonah Heim (S) C
- Nathaniel Lowe (L) – 1B
- Josh Jung (R) – 3B
- Leody Taveras (S) – CF