PHOENIX – The Arizona Diamondbacks wake up every morning with the intent of disarranging their opponents. You are young. They are fast. Don’t look down – someone could steal second base. The team built a marketing campaign around the concept: “Embrace the chaos.” Players hoped to put on a show Monday as the World Series returned to Chase Field for the first time since 2001.
On an idyllic evening in the desert, with the roof open and temperatures hovering around 70 degrees after the sun had set behind the White Tank Mountains, the Diamondbacks could only enjoy the laziness. An early base-running gaffe by first baseman Christian Walker and strong pitching from the Texas Rangers prevented Arizona from wreaking havoc, running rampant or doing anything at all, leading to a 3-1 Rangers victory in Game 3 of the Fall Classic .
Texas held its hosts in check despite an emergency midway through the game. Max Scherzer pitched three innings before exiting with a back injury. Jon Gray was called up from the bullpen and pitched three brilliant innings. He flooded the zone with strikes and raced through Arizona’s lineup. A brief upset in the eighth inning against combustible reliever Aroldis Chapman led to Arizona’s only run. Texas pulled away from the rally when shortstop Corey Seager and second baseman Marcus Semien converted a 6-4-3 double play to save Chapman. The rout benefited the Rangers as they took a 2-1 lead in the series.
Seager and Semien combined to drive in all three of Texas’ runs, all in the third inning against Arizona starter Brandon Pfaadt. Seager delivered his second home run of the series, a two-run shot that provided some cushion. Pfaadt was eliminated with one out in the sixth round. It was only his 23rd time as a pitcher in a big league game. Scherzer made his 30th postseason start.
Depending on your perspective, Scherzer is either a physical marvel or a physical wreck. He turned 39 in July. He made 27 starts that season, most of them with the Mets, who traded him to Texas during a trade deadline teardown. Scherzer struck out more than one batter per inning for the 12th consecutive season. At times he still resembles the pitcher who won three Cy Young Awards and made eight All-Star teams in his prime.
Nevertheless, the strain on his body was constant. He struggled with shoulder problems and neck spasms earlier this season in Queens. In September, he suffered a strained teres muscle in his right shoulder that sidelined him for the final weeks of the regular season. He suffered a cut on his right thumb in his return to the American League Championship Series. The training staff patched the wound with glue and cotton.
“I can throw a fastball 100 percent of the time,” Scherzer said Sunday afternoon. The bigger question, he explained, is how long he can last in a game. “That’s the number we haven’t 100 percent nailed down yet.”
Scherzer managed 63 pitches while giving up five runs in four innings in Game 3 against Houston. Five days later, he threw only 44. Rangers manager Bruce Bochy intervened when Scherzer threatened the team’s lead in Game 7. Bochy sounded encouraged after Scherzer demonstrated improved command and arm strength in a bullpen session last week. “Every time he’s out, I think he’s getting better,” Bochy said.
Arizona missed a chance to hurt Scherzer in the second inning. Walker fired a first-pitch fastball off the base of the center field wall for a double. When designated hitter Tommy Pham hit a single to right, Walker raced toward third base. Down the line, third base coach Tony Perezchica twisted his arm and motioned for Walker to go home. Walker lowered his head and missed Perezchica’s next signal. He threw up both hands as right fielder Adolis García gathered to throw. Walker never saw the changed instructions. He was at the plate and Scherzer avoided further damage in the frame. The sequence offered chaos, but not the kind worth embracing.
Two of the coldest Rangers combined for the first run of the game. Texas first baseman Nathaniel Lowe recorded his first hit in the World Series by hitting a double early in the third. Semien had sunk into an even deeper despair. Semien had hit .194 in October. He chased a 2-1 fastball and hit a single against Lowe. The goal gave Texas the lead. It also brought Seager back onto the scene.
Seager showed his penchant for first-pitch fastballs in Game 1, ripping off an elevated heater from Diamondbacks closer Paul Sewald for a game-winning blast. He comes to the plate ready to swing. He loves fastballs but settles for the occasional hanging ball, like the first pitch Pfaadt threw to him. Seager ripped the ball over the right field fence, giving Scherzer a 3-0 lead.
Scherzer grimaced as he left the dugout at the end of the fourth half. He was hit in the back by a line drive in the second inning. He looked uncomfortable during the warm-up. Bochy and a member of the training staff came to the mound. The discussion didn’t last long. Scherzer left with the initial diagnosis of back strain. Bochy turned to Gray, whom the Rangers wanted to use in an expanded role in Game 4.
Both teams will host some sort of bullpen game on Tuesday. It’s unlikely Gray will play a role in the celebrations after his appearance in Game 3. He didn’t allow a man on base until Arizona second baseman Ketel Marte hit a liner off Semien’s glove for a two-out single in the sixth. The crowd moved as rookie catcher Gabriel Moreno came to the plate. Gray silenced them with his first pitch, a shin-high slider at 91.8 mph that Moreno blasted to right field.
Gray showed changeup and curveball on Monday. Of his 30 throws, 15 were sliders and 14 were fastballs. Almost all of them were strikes. Arizona seemed happy about his departure. Pham hit a one-out double against reliever Josh Sborz in the seventh. There was no run. Sborz had outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. hit a curveball in the dirt for the second time. The third came when outfielder Alek Thomas whiffed on another corner.
Arizona’s best chance coincided with the arrival of Chapman. Chapman is no longer a fearsome closer. His scattershot command turns every trip into an adventure. He began the eighth inning with a leadoff double against pinch-hitter Emmanuel Rivera. A single by shortstop Geraldo Perdomo overwhelmed Rivera and turned the lineup over. Chapman recovered to freeze rookie outfielder Corbin Carroll with a waist-high slider. Seager went left to grab a hard-hit grounder from Marte. Seager fed Semien, who turned to throw Marte out first and eliminate the threat.
(Photo: Daniel Shirey / MLB Photos via Getty Images)