Adolis García Is Officially a Rangers Legend, More Takeaways from World Series Game 1
With two big swings from Corey Seager and Adolis García, the Texas Rangers went from the brink of losing Game 1 of the 2023 World Series to 6-5 winners with all the momentum now residing in their dugout.
García launched a walk-off, opposite-field blast in the bottom of the 11th inning, and that decisive blow was set up by a game-tying moonshot from Seager in the bottom of the ninth off previously untouchable Arizona Diamondbacks closer Paul Sewald.
There was a little bit of everything for baseball fans in Game 1, from standout performances from rookies Corbin Carroll and Evan Carter to a pair of shaky performances from starting pitchers that forced both teams to dip into their bullpens early.
Ahead is a closer look at the biggest takeaways from Game 1 of this year's Fall Classic.
Nathan Eovaldi Finally Looked Human in October
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Nathan Eovaldi established himself as one of the greatest postseason pitchers of his generation without ever starting a game in the World Series.
Turns out, it's harder than it looks.
During a pair of postseason runs with the Boston Red Sox in 2018 and 2021, and the first three rounds of the playoffs this year, he went 8-3 with a 2.87 ERA in 69 innings. That included a 4-0 record and 2.42 ERA in 26 innings over four quality starts this postseason.
He was supposed to be the starting pitcher in Game 4 of the 2018 World Series, but he was instead tasked with working six innings of relief during the 18-inning marathon in Game 3 in one of the gutsiest October performances in recent memory.
He was dealing early, going 1-2-3 in the first inning before striking out the side in the second inning.
However, the D-backs tagged him for three runs in the third inning behind a two-run triple from Corbin Carroll. He ended up allowing six hits and five earned runs in 4.2 innings before turning things over to the bullpen.
The 33-year-old is a big reason why the Rangers are in the World Series to begin with, but his first start on the game's biggest stage was a dud.
Corbin Carroll is the D-backs' Version of Buster Posey
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Every once in a while, a rookie comes along and completely changes the complexion of an MLB franchise.
Shortstop Troy Tulowitzki led the Colorado Rockies on a late-season surge that carried them all the way to the World Series in 2007, finishing runner-up in NL Rookie of the Year voting during a 6.7-WAR rookie campaign.
Third baseman Evan Longoria debuted in 2008 for a Tampa Bay Rays franchise that had posted 10 straight losing seasons since its inaugural campaign in 1998 and won AL Rookie of the Year before leading them to the Fall Classic with three doubles and four home runs in the ALCS.
Catcher Buster Posey is perhaps the best example of this, as his rookie season coincided with the San Francisco Giants winning their first of three titles in five years in 2010, and he was at the center of it all from the get-go.
Corbin Carroll is that same type of player.
After a 25-homer, 54-steal, 5.4-WAR rookie season, he hit .295/.396/.455 with 13 hits, four steals and nine runs scored over the first three rounds of the playoffs, and he delivered a two-run triple in the third inning to help swing the momentum to the D-backs dugout in the early going.
Evan Carter Will Be Overwhelming Favorite For 2024 AL Rookie of the Year
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Diamondbacks outfielder Corbin Carroll is the clear favorite for the 2023 NL Rookie of the Year award, and the other dugout is home to the player who will be the runaway favorite for 2024 AL honors when next season begins.
With only 23 games and 62 at-bats during the regular season, Evan Carter will still hold rookie eligibility going into the 2024 season. The cut-off to maintain eligibility is 130 at-bats, 50 innings pitched or 45 days on the active roster during the regular season.
The 21-year-old was still playing at the Double-A level two months ago, and now he is hitting No. 3 in the Texas Rangers lineup in the World Series.
After hitting .308/.449/.538 with seven extra-base hits in 12 games during the first three rounds of the playoffs, he laced a pair of doubles with an RBI and a run scored in Game 1 of the Fall Classic.
Junior Caminero (TB), Colt Keith (DET), Brooks Lee (MIN) and Ceddanne Rafaela (BOS) are a few other names to keep an eye on, but Carter will be the overwhelming favorite when the odds are released.
The Pressure is on For Game 2 Starters to Go Deep
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In case you had forgotten by the time the game finally ended in the bottom of the 11th inning, Zac Gallen and Nathan Eovaldi were the starting pitchers in Game 1.
By the time the dust finally settled on Game 1, 11 different relief pitchers had tossed a combined 11.2 innings after Gallen threw 99 pitches in five innings before exiting and Eovaldi was chased after just 4.2 frames.
For two teams that did not count relief pitching among their biggest strengths during the regular season, the pressure is now on for the starters to pitch deep into Game 2.
Luckily, the two guys scheduled to toe the rubber—Jordan Montgomery for the Texas Rangers and Merrill Kelly for the Arizona Diamondbacks—are no strangers to giving the bullpen a rest.
- Montgomery: 32 GS, 188.2 IP, 5.90 IP per start, 22 quality starts
- Kelly: 30 GS, 177.2 IP, 5.92 IP per start, 19 quality starts
An early exit from either of those guys, whether it's as a result of performance or pitch count, could spell disaster for their team in Game 2.
Corey Seager Is Worth Every Penny of $325 Million Contract
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The $325 million contract that the Texas Rangers gave Corey Seager prior to the 2022 season is tied for the eighth-largest deal ever given to an MLB player.
In 2023, he has been worth every penny.
He put together a regular season that might have won him AL MVP honors if Shohei Ohtani didn't exist, racking up a staggering 75 extra-base hits in 119 games while tallying a career-high 6.9 WAR and hitting .327/.390/.623 for a 170 OPS+.
The 29-year-old is no stranger to postseason success, having won NLCS and World Series MVP honors with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2022 when he hit a combined .328/.425/.746 with eight home runs and 20 RBI in 18 games.
However, the highlight of his playoff career came on Friday night.
With one out and the Rangers trailing 5-3 in the bottom of the ninth inning, he crushed the first pitch he saw from D-backs closer Paul Sewald for the game-tying, two-run home run, setting up the extra-inning victory.
The fact that Sewald had rattled off eight scoreless innings while allowing just three hits and striking out 11 of the 30 batters he faced this postseason heading into Game 1 made the clutch blast that much more impressive.
Adolis García Is the Hottest Hitter on Planet Earth
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Miguel Castro never stood a chance.
Then again, it seems like no opposing pitcher does when Adolis García steps into the batter's box these days.
Pitching for the first time since Game 5 of the NLCS and just the fifth time all postseason, Castro came on with one out in the bottom of the 11th inning and left a 3-1 sinker out over the plate to García, who hit a laser to the opposite field and sent the Texas Rangers home winners in Game 1.
After he went 10-for-28 with five home runs and 15 RBI against the Houston Astros to win ALCS MVP honors, it was fair to wonder what he might do for an encore.
The answer was to etch his name into the record books with his 22nd RBI of the postseason while crushing one of the biggest home runs in club history.
The walk-off blast was part of a 3-for-4 night that also included two RBI, one walk and one scary hit-by-pitch that he took off the wrist in his at-bat prior to the home run, solidifying his status as the hottest hitter on Earth. He has potentially six more games to add to his new postseason RBI record.
