In the last week of June, this World Series matchup would have made a lot of sense. The Rangers led the American League West by five games, and the Diamondbacks led the National League West by three. To that early point in the season, both ball clubs had shown the traits that have now catapulted them into the Fall Classic, which begins Friday at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. The Diamondbacks, led by fleet-footed rookie Corbin Carroll and the exacting swing of second baseman Ketel Marte.
The reason this World Series matchup doesn’t make so much sense, of course, is what went down in the second half of the regular season. The D-Backs faltered in July and were overthrown by the Dodgers who maintained and grew their lead as the season went on. Texas battled back and forth with the Astros and Mariners all summer, losing the division title to Houston on the final day of the regular season. The Rangers got the last laugh however, as they outlasted the Astros in a fierce seven-game ALCS, flexing a dynamic offense with alarming power. They will take the next few days to rest and reset the rotation, with Eovaldi and Montgomery on top.
Arizona was 16 games back of the Dodgers at the end of the season. That just didn’t matter much in the NLDS where they bulldozed LA in a 3-0 sweep. the Diamondbacks can slash line drives and fly around the bases with Corbin Carrol and the exacting swing of Ketel Marte. And they showed they have the ability to battle back not just in the regular season, but in the playoffs too. In the NLCS against the Phillies they came back from down 2-0 early in to win in game seven in Philadelphia last night.
Texas can relate. Down 3-2 to the Astros, they powered their way past their in-state rivals on Monday at Minute Maid Park to clinch their first World Series berth since 2011, flexing their dynamic offense with alarming power. The Diamondbacks haven’t played in the Fall Classic since 2001, when they beat the Yankees in game 7 on Luis Gonzalez’s ninth-inning single off Mariano Rivera.
Game 1 airs Friday, Oct. 27 at 8:03p ET, on Fox.
