PHOENIX — Clear your calendar for this weekend, baseball fans. Game 1 of the 2023 World Series is Friday, Oct. 27, 2023. First pitch between the Arizona Diamondbacks and Texas Rangers is at 5:03 p.m. Arizona time.
The first two games of the Fall Classic will take place in Texas at Globe Life Field. For fans unable to attend the game in person, all World Series games will be broadcast on the Fox network.
Arizona is returning to the World Series for the first time in 22 years. The last time the D-backs played in the series in 2001, and many agree that it was one of the most thrilling series' of all-time. Fans across the Grand Canyon state remember exactly where they were as Luis Gonzalez hit that bloop single over the head of Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter.
Now a new generation of D-backs fans get to cheer on an exciting crop of young, talented players that are poised to dominate for years to come.
On Friday, the D-backs announced ace Zac Gallen will start in Game 1. The offense looks to stay hot with Ketel Marte coming off an MVP performance in the NLCS and a resurgent Corbin Carroll.
The Match-up
Starting Pitchers – RHP Zac Gallen (2-2, 5.24 ERA) vs. RHP Nathan Eovaldi (4-0, 2.42 ERA)
The Rangers are looking for just their second win at home this postseason. They clinched the Division Series over the Baltimore Orioles in Arlington but were swept in the three games in the Championship Series when hosting the Houston Astros.
To accomplish the goal, they send the right man to the mound – the pitcher who has been the staff ace for all but one month of the season, Nathan Eovaldi.
In the regular season, Eovaldi stepped up after Jacob deGrom hit the injured list with season-ending Tommy John surgery. He went 12-5 with a 3.63 ERA over 25 starts with an All-Star Game appearance and an AL May Pitcher of the Month nod. The starts that he missed were due to a forearm strain that he succumbed to in late July, before easing back into the rotation in September.
As the season drew to a close, it didn’t look as if Eovaldi would be what the Rangers needed in October, but once the playoff games started, the 33-year-old veteran kicked it into gear. Totaling 26 innings, Eovaldi has thrown four quality starts for the Rangers, with his best outing coming in the Division Series clincher in Arlington against the Orioles, throwing seven innings and allowing just one run.
Eovaldi did not face the Snakes in the regular season this year, but throughout his career, the righty’s numbers look pretty similar to his postseason line.
In eight starts against Arizona, Eovaldi sports a 3-0 record with a 2.78 ERA, with the D-Backs slashing .164/.233/.236 against him. The caveat to all of that, though, is that the last time Eovaldi faced Arizona was seven years ago.
And then there's Zac Gallen, Arizona's ace, who finished 5th in the NL Cy Young running last season and was elected to his first All-Star game this year. Gallen, who held a 17-9 record with a 3.47 ERA in the regular season is a huge part of how the Snakes got to the postseason.
There is a good chance he places in the top-5 in Cy Young balloting again. But the Cy Young is based on regular season performance, a good thing for Gallen. The 27-year-old has simply not performed well in the later stages of the 2023 postseason.
After giving up just two runs in each of his starts against the Brewers in the Wild Card series and the Dodgers in the Division Series, Gallen then allowed the Phillies, with a powerful offense much like the Rangers, to score five runs in Game 1 and four runs in Game 5, both Arizona losses.\
Gallen won’t be a surprise to Texas. They faced him both times that the teams played against each other this season. In Arlington back in May, the Rangers tagged Gallen for three runs on seven hits in five innings in the Rangers’ only win against Arizona this season.
When Texas traveled to Chase Field back in August, Gallen was much more the ace that the Diamondbacks had come to expect, holding the Rangers (who were struggling mightily at the time) to one run on seven hits over six frames, while also striking out 11.
For a full breakdown of the complete series schedule, visit our previous coverage online.
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