The Arizona Diamondbacks used six different pitchers against the Texas Rangers on Tuesday night, but the visiting team had a counter for whatever was thrown at them.
Entering Game 4, the Rangers’ lineup was significantly weakened by an oblique injury to slugger Adolis García, but it didn’t look diminished in a 11-run effort — paving the way for the team to earn its 10th consecutive road playoff win and take a 3-1 lead in the World Series.
Arizona went down 5-0 by the end of the second inning, and 10-0 by the end of the third. That, understandably, proved too high a mountain to climb for the Diamondbacks, despite the team’s 6 runs in the eighth and ninth innings. Following the 11-7 loss, the team’s margin for error has now evaporated.
The rest of this series is likely to provide a little more suspense than Tuesday’s contest, which was over a third of the way in thanks to the fireworks provided by Marcus Semien and Corey Seager — who drove in a combined seven runs in the first three frames.
Here are a few takeaways from the Rangers’ dominant victory:
SEMIEN’S BAT WAKES UP
The Rangers’ lineup has been solid in these playoffs, bringing a 113 wRC+ into Game 4 — but the offence has managed that without getting much from one of its best hitters in Semien.
In his first 15 games of the 2023 postseason, the veteran hit a measly .197/.264/.227. His last extra-base hit prior to Tuesday came in Game 3 of the ALDS on October 10th.
Semien came around early on Tuesday, providing a two-out triple that gave former teammate Lourdes Gurriel Jr. trouble in the second, and his team an early 3-0 lead.
One inning later, he put Game 4 out of reach with his first home run of the playoffs. His five RBI in the game was just two short of his total from his first 24 playoff appearances (7).
With García out, the Rangers needed other hitters to step up. Semien did just that on Tuesday.
If he’s broken out of his playoff slump, that will be a massive boost to the Rangers’ efforts to close out the series.
NEXT MAN UP
When García went down the Rangers were never going to get a one-for-one replacement for his production. The outfielder was slashing .323/.382/.726 with eight home runs and 22 RBI when an oblique injury forced him off the World Series roster.
Expecting Travis Jankowski to step in and rake like that would’ve been unfair, and Rangers manager Bruce Bochy implied as much when he gave an accounting of the 32-year-old’s abilities before the game.
“Got pressed into a starting role there for a while when we had our injuries and really picked us up when we needed it,” Bochy said. “Solid all around. Smart player. Good defender. Speed. He’s a guy that can handle the bat. He can bunt. He does a good job putting the ball in play.”
That’s the description of a role player, but Jankowski produced a star performance in Game 1. He kept the second inning alive, turning over the lineup with a single up the middle that allowed Semien and Corey Seager to come to the plate and do some damage.
In the third, he knocked in some runs of his own with a double.
Jankowski was overshadowed by Semien, and his contributions were diluted by a massive offensive performance from Texas — but the first playoff start of his nine-year MLB career was a resounding success.
He even made a harrowing catch late in the game, where he narrowly avoided a nasty collision with Semien.
KETEL MARTE IS AUTOMATIC
Marte has now played 20 postseason games in his nine-year MLB career, and he’s recorded at least one hit in all of them.
It only took four pitches for the 29-year-old to smash a 111.0 mph single up the middle to extend his career streak, and set the single-playoff record.
Marte has been the engine of the Diamondbacks in these playoffs. He brought a .333/.362/.545 postseason line into Game 4 with nine extra-base hits and three stolen bases.
There have been times during Arizona’s playoff drought between 2018 and 2022 when it seemed like the best course of action for the team might be trading Marte for a significant package of young players. The Diamondbacks held onto their star and extended him prior to the 2022 season.
They are undoubtedly glad they did.
VALUABLE WORK FROM ANDREW HEANEY AND RYNE NELSON
Before Game 4 began, the range of outcomes for Heaney was expansive.
Starting the left-hander was already a contingency plan that resulted from Jon Gray pitching in Game 3 to relieve an injured Max Scherzer — and there was a chance that Texas was going to treat Game 4 as a bullpen game with Heaney giving them a couple of innings off the top.
The Rangers might’ve done just that if their offensive explosion hadn’t given them some room for error. Because the bats showed up, Texas was able to give Heaney some rope, and the team was rewarded for it.
Heaney provided five innings of one-run ball, with a reasonable six base runners allowed. He wasn’t overpowering as his average fastball velocity (91.9 mph) sat below his season average (92.5) and he generated a modest five whiffs, but he did enough.
More important than the quality of his stuff was the fact that he kept the Rangers’ bullpen fresh — aside from José Leclerc, who came in to collect the final out thanks to Bochy playing it safe.
Nelson also pitched far more than he likely expected on Tuesday night. After the game got out of hand, Arizona was able to end its parade of relievers and hand him the ball for an extended outing.
The Diamondbacks starter entered his first game since October 17 and delivered 5.1 innings with a single run allowed and six strikeouts.
His strong showing didn’t affect the outcome of the game, but it ensured that his team’s relief corps wouldn’t be exhausted for a must-win Game 5.
