Rangers Defeat Diamondbacks 3-1 in World Series Game 3

Baseball can be both exhilarating and uplifting in one moment, and agonizing immediately after. Such was the case for the Diamondbacks and their fans during Monday night's 3-1 loss to the Rangers in Game 3 of the World Series.

Prior to the game, there had been a grassroots effort to get the fans behind struggling first baseman Christian Walker. He had helped carry the Diamondbacks into the playoffs, leading the team in both homers and RBI while playing Gold Glove defense. He'd been slumping over his last nine games however, going just 3-for-31.

When he came to the plate to leadoff the bottom of the second, most of the throng of 48,000 rose to their feet to give him a standing ovation, chanting "Lets Go Walker", as a means to encourage him and help him out of his slump. On the very first pitch Walker got a 94 MPH fastball up out over the plate from Max Scherzer and pounded it to the base of the wall in right center field. The ball traveled 400 feet and would have been a homer in 20 out of 30 major league ballparks according to Baseball Savant. Settling for a double, Walker signaled to his teammates in the dugout with arms raised in a moment of triumph.

Just two pitches later that triumph would turn to frustration and painful irony. Tommy Pham laced a singled into right field. As third base coach Tony Perezchica circled his arms frantically right fielder Adolis García fielded the ball cleanly. The third base coach tried to put up the stop sign, but Walker, who got a poor read, had looked down five feet before the bag to make sure he touched the base and never looked back up, blowing right through the sign. García has one of the best arms in the league and fired a strike to home plate as Walker motored around third, only to be thrown out easily by five feet.

Torey Lovullo said that Walker owned the mistake and the slugger confirmed that during his post game comments.

Christian Walker said he never saw the stop sign pic.twitter.com/eL4Uk7EouC
— Alex Weiner (@alexjweiner) October 31, 2023

Instead of first and third, nobody out there was just a runner on second and one out. Scherzer induced a pop out and then Alek Thomas hit a comebacker off Scherzer's back that bounced over to Josh Jung at third base who made a nice play to throw out the speedy Thomas. This turned out to be the key turning point of the game, as Lovullo stated in the post game press conference.

"I feel like that was a huge momentum swing. You're looking at first and third, potentially, and no outs. And a lot of people liked to play out the next set of circumstances -- a pop up and a ground ball off the pitcher's arm. But who knows? The timing, everything would have been different; we may have scored a bunch of runs. You just don't know what would have happened. The outcome would have been totally different."

The Rangers followed by scoring all three of their runs in the top of the 3rd inning, with perhaps a little help from home plate umpire Alfonso Marquez, who made a series of questionable ball and strike calls on the evening. Leadoff batter Nathaniel Lowe looked to have been struck out on the 4th pitch of the at bat on an 0-2 pitch that caught the bottom of the zone. But Marquez has a notoriously tight zone and D-backs starter Brandon Pfaadt did not get the call. Lowe battled and on the 8th pitch took another ball that looked to have nicked the strike zone. On the 9th pitch Lowe finally doubled to centerfield.

Pfaadt got the next two outs, but Marcus Semien singled home Lowe, and then Corey Seager got a mistake changeup in the middle of the zone, launching it into the right field bleachers. It was his second two-run homer of the series, and turned out to be the decisive blow.

Scherzer had to leave the game in the top of the fourth with back spasms, but Jon Gray came into the game to throw three scoreless innings, giving up just one hit. Gray pitched 1.2 of scoreless relief in game two as well. Ketel Marte hit a scorching liner off Semiens glove at 106 MPH. It was ruled a hit, extending his record postseason hitting streak to 19 games, but with two outs Marte would go no further as Walker's 102 MPH ground ball went right to Semien for the final out.

Meanwhile Marquez was not done making bad calls. In the 5th inning he called ball on a pitch that was clearly well inside the strike zone to Lowe, resulting in a walk.

Apparently Alfonso Marquez things the strike zone is only the middle row.

This is ridiculous. He ranks 65th out of 86 umps with 10 more games called in average accuracy. Do better #MLB pic.twitter.com/HByhhaJn1d
— Jack Sommers (@shoewizard59) October 31, 2023

The D-backs offense continued to be held in check until the 8th inning. Emmanuel Rivera hit a pinch hit opposite field double off of Aroldis Chapman. He scored on a blooper to left by Geraldo Perdomo. Corbin Carroll got caught looking at a slider down the middle however and then Marte hit into a 6-4-3 double play, started by a nice sliding stop by Seager on a 114 MPH ground ball up the middle. The call was challenged but upheld with the throw just barely nipping Marte at first.

One more time Marquez would make his presence known. His poor strike zone and inconsistency left the hitters with little idea of what was a strike and what was a ball. Gabriel Moreno led off the 9th and saw a pitch that actually looked like a strike well inside the zone, but Marquez called it a ball. Then on a 3-1 count a pitch WELL outside the zone, and much further out than the previous pitch called a ball, was called a strike to bring the count full. Finally Moreno was forced to swing at a pitch out of the zone and grounded out to third.

Alfonso Marquez called pitch 2 a ball and pitch 5 a strike

This is very poor umpiring pic.twitter.com/jYR0EXdrHh
— Jack Sommers (@shoewizard59) October 31, 2023

Lovullo was asked several times about the strike zone, but after some long pauses, he refused to take the bait, answering diplomatically.

You're trying to get me in trouble, I know. The world's watching right now. I'm not happy about it. I know that if they were off the plate and there were missed calls, they've got to tighten it up. I say that to everybody.

But I will say this, that the umps are doing their absolute best. Ball is moving at a high velocity. It's getting manipulated at home plate. But there were some calls that didn't go our way today. Was that the difference in the game? I don't know. I don't think so.

It's impossible to say, but Lovullo is probably right about that last part. A baserunning mistake, lackluster hitting, and two location mistakes were the differences in this game.

Game 4 is tomorrow night at 5:03 at Chase Field. If the D-backs are to win this series, they are going to have to do it on the road again. First they'll have to win at least one of the next two games to insure they'll have the chance. One injury note of importance. Adolis García was removed from the game with left side tightness, and as reported by Bob Nightengale of USA Today, was seen leaving the ballpark immediately after the game in street clothes, presumably to go get imaging.