Diamondbacks thump Rangers in Game 2 to even World Series behind Merrill Kelly’s dominant performance - The Athletic

ARLINGTON, Texas — On the day before his first World Series start, Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Merrill Kelly snuck a glance over his shoulder at his news conference backdrop. “I decided to take a look back just to double-check that it said ‘World Series’ behind me,” he said. All October he has tried to enjoy this improbable journey, which Kelly extended on Saturday in a 9-1 Arizona victory over the Texas Rangers. “If you would have asked me five, six, seven years ago if I would be sitting here talking to you guys right now,” Kelly said earlier this month, “I don’t know if I would have seen that light towards the end of that tunnel.”

Kelly, a 35-year-old right-hander, took a circuitous route to a place of prominence on the Diamondbacks. Nearly eight years ago, Kelly washed out of the Tampa Bay Rays minor-league system. He signed with the SK Wyverns of the Korean Baseball Organization and spent four seasons overseas. Along the way, he contemplated many things: a return to the United States, a place in Major League Baseball, and maybe even a night like Saturday, when he subdued the Rangers for seven innings of one-run baseball to even the Fall Classic at 1-1.

“There wasn’t a day during my time in Korea that I didn’t think about being here,” Kelly said during the last round.

Arizona offered Kelly a major-league contract heading into 2019. He pitched himself into a position within the franchise’s foundation. The Diamondbacks would not be on this stage without Kelly, who leads the team’s rotation along with All-Star Zac Gallen. And the tenor of this World Series would look different without Kelly’s presence in Game 2. He struck out nine and walked none. In the biggest game of his life, Kelly pitched the game of his life.

His teammates provided sufficient cover, extracting four runs out of Texas starter Jordan Montgomery in six innings. Rookie catcher Gabriel Moreno hit his fourth homer of the postseason. The rest of the lineup demonstrated the pesky economy of Diamondbacks baseball, pecking away at Montgomery with a flurry of infield singles, stolen bases and sacrifice bunts. Corbin Carroll supplied a pair of RBI hits. Ketel Marte iced the game with a two-run, two-out single in the eighth. Marte extended his postseason hitting streak to 18 games, a new record. The evening looked a lot like Game 1 — except for the anticlimactic ending.

Snakes bite first on Gabriel Moreno's 4th #postseason HR. pic.twitter.com/tyvKPVOpJT

— MLB (@MLB) October 29, 2023

As the teams reconvened at Globe Life Field on Saturday afternoon, they were still buzzing about the night before. Arizona carried a two-run lead into the ninth inning of Game 1. Then Diamondbacks closer Paul Sewald attempted to sneak a fastball past Rangers shortstop Corey Seager. “That was easily the loudest crowd roar that I’ve ever heard,” Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said. “And well-deserved.” Seager’s homer tied the game. A home run by Texas outfielder Adolis García ended it two innings later. It was the latest feat from García, a player Texas designated for assignment in the spring of 2021. He cleared waivers, stayed with the Rangers and made his first All-Star team that summer. He made another in 2023. “We’re lucky to have him,” Texas manager Bruce Bochy said before the game.

They felt the same way about Montgomery, a midseason acquisition from St. Louis. The bearded, burly pitcher has shouldered a heavy workload this postseason. Game 2 marked his sixth October outing. He had logged 2 1/3 innings in relief in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series against Houston. The schedule afforded his customary four days of rest before he faced Arizona.

At the outset, Montgomery looked firm. When Arizona designated hitter Tommy Pham notched an infield single in the second, Montgomery lured outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. into reaching for a curveball outside the zone. Gurriel grounded into an inning-ending double play. Montgomery defused another threat after a leadoff third-inning single by outfielder Alek Thomas. Montgomery accepted one free out when veteran Evan Longoria laid down a sacrifice bunt. Arizona shortstop Geraldo Perdomo pounded a curveball into the grass for another out. Marte, one of the most dangerous Diamondbacks, swung late on a 92.5-mph fastball and flied out to center.

The spell broke in the fourth. Arizona borrowed a page from Texas’ playbook. Moreno walloped a waist-high, two-seam fastball. Montgomery is one of the few pitchers who can get away with throwing sinkers up in the zone. He did not get away with this one. Moreno opened the scoring with a solo shot. Two batters later, Pham whacked another sinker for a double. Gurriel lined a four-seam fastball into center for an RBI single to put Arizona ahead, 2-0.

Kelly looked even more formidable than Montgomery. He faced the minimum through three innings. The Rangers did not get a ball out of the infield until the fourth. But they would not stay quiet all evening. The first Texas batter in the bottom of the fifth was designated hitter Mitch Garver. A catcher by trade, Garver possesses enough power to stay in the lineup, with Jonah Heim as the regular backstop. Garver dug out a knee-high sinker and lifted it toward left field. Gurriel started to track the ball before stopping. He had no chance. The homer reduced Arizona’s lead to one run.

Kelly declined to buckle. He throws six different types of pitches. When he faced the top of the Rangers lineup for a third time in the sixth, he toggled through his options to strike out the side. He teased second baseman Marcus Semien with sinkers, sliders and cutters low and away before spotting a 93-mph fastball for a called third strike. He slipped a 2-2 cutter past Seager for another strikeout. Kelly finished off the frame by fooling rookie outfielder Evan Carter with a curveball.

Arizona expelled Montgomery from the game in the seventh. Thomas smacked a leadoff double. Rangers third baseman Josh Jung positioned himself to protect against another sacrifice bunt from Longoria. Instead, Longoria swung away, ripping an RBI single past Jung. Perdomo bunted Longoria into scoring position after Bochy inserted left-handed pitcher Andrew Heaney. The platoon advantage did not matter against Carroll, the left-handed hitting rookie, who shot a single through the left side of the infield to give Arizona a 4-1 advantage.

Kelly kept cruising. He froze García with a 94.1-mph fastball to begin the bottom of the seventh. He finished the frame by doing something similar to Heim. His pitch count stood at 89. Lovullo still decided to pull him. Unlike Game 6 of the National League Championship Series, when Lovullo’s quick hook caused a commotion from Kelly, the pitcher took the decision in stride. He had quieted a packed stadium and muffled a fierce lineup at the game’s highest level. He had lived the dream that once felt so far from his grasp. On this night, that was enough.

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(Photo: Sam Hodde / Getty Images)

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