ARLINGTON, Texas – The Diamondbacks have defied doubters, haters, critics, skeptics and the threat of elimination.
Now our baseball team faces a new obstacle and a painfully familiar World Series opponent:
Bad luck.
Nauseatingly, the Diamondbacks snatched defeat from the jaws of victory in Game 1 on Friday night. With two outs to go, they blew a two-run lead and lost 6-5 to the Rangers in 11 innings. Heartbreak can’t be deeper on a baseball field, and it’s been a while since we’ve felt that way.
I hope you wore a chest protector.
“It’s frustrating,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “That’s how the game goes sometimes. We have to find a way to be resilient and adaptable, to come out of this with a clear head and do our best. And I have reason to believe we will.”
Snake bite? The Diamondbacks have played four road games in their World Series history. Three times her closer allowed a game-winning home run in the bottom of the ninth inning.
Before Game 1, we all marveled at the overwhelming sense of fate and the eerie comparisons to 2001. Just like 22 years ago, former President George W. Bush threw out the first pitch of the first away game. The All-Star Game was in Seattle in 2023, just like it was in 2001. And both seasons featured the absurdity of a top pitcher killing a bird with a thrown baseball. Back then it was Randy Johnson. This year it was Zac Gallen.
The coincidences felt reassuring, like the stars were aligning again for the Diamondbacks. But on Friday night, the comparisons were a little too real.
Back then it was Byung-Hyun Kim. On Friday, it was Paul Sewald who was perfect in the postseason before Corey Seager’s 412-foot shot.
“It was definitely a cool moment,” Seager said.
The Diamondbacks lost a lot of games like this during the regular season. But this is different. This loss was painful and the missed opportunity will be hard to shake.
For most of Game 1, it felt like a collection of Arizona’s greatest hits: a tough but tough outing from Gallen, who faced his team’s two-run deficit for the fourth time in five playoff games; a resilient offense that prides itself on providing an answer; more basepath chaos from a team that has stolen 12 bases in the last three games; and a lockdown bullpen that appeared to be implementing another seamless succession plan.
But the Diamondbacks were also uncharacteristically sloppy. Walks become runs in the postseason, and Arizona pitchers walked 10 batters in Game 1. And it was Sewald’s walk of a No. 9 hitter before facing Seager that did the most damage.
“Those are some of the things we need to tighten up,” Lovullo said. “You can’t walk 10 batters in a World Series game.”
A pity. The Diamondbacks seemed so strong on the big stage. On Friday, they were underdogs for the 13th straight playoff game. They were on the verge of their seventh away win in nine attempts. They came so close to silencing media idiots who didn’t believe an 84-win team didn’t belong in the World Series.
This will test our baseball team and the Diamondbacks will have to be careful not to lose two games in one on Friday night.
22 years ago, the Diamondbacks shook off the ghosts of Yankee Stadium and a series of late-game haymakers to win one of the greatest World Series in history. Resilience to disasters was their defining characteristic.
But this team is much younger. And we’ll learn a lot about her heart and her chin in the coming days.
Reach Bickley at [email protected]. Listen to Bickley & Marotta weekdays from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Arizona Sports.