World Series 2023: Top Storylines for Diamondbacks vs. Rangers Game 2

The Arizona Diamondbacks were two outs away from opening the 2023 World Series with a victory.

The Texas Rangers enter Game 2 with the 1-0 advantage thanks to a pair of home-run swings from Corey Seager and Adolis Garcia.

Texas carries all the momentum into Saturday (8:03 p.m. ET, Fox, Fox Sports app), but Arizona can follow a similar path to success that it did in Game 1.

Arizona benefited from its aggressiveness on the base paths and some timely hits with runners in scoring position.

Texas holds the power advantage behind Seager and Garcia, but it may be limited by Merrill Kelly in the first five or six innings.

Arizona Must Stay Aggressive on Bases

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ARLINGTON, TEXAS - OCTOBER 27: Corbin Carroll #7 of the Arizona Diamondbacks runs to third base for a triple in the third inning against the Texas Rangers during Game One of the World Series at Globe Life Field on October 27, 2023 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)

Arizona utilized its small-ball approach to perfection in Game 1.

Five of the D-Backs' eight hits were singles and they stole four bases to erase an early deficit.

Arizona produced a three-run rally in the third and pushed across one run each in the fourth and fifth innings to hold the lead entering the ninth inning.

The National League champion can follow the same strategy to a Game 2 victory against Texas starter Jordan Montgomery.

Montgomery gave up at least five hits in four of his five postseason appearances this season. He only allowed six earned runs, but the hit concessions could be a bigger problem against an aggressive Arizona team.

The D-Backs need Corbin Carroll to get on base early to push the issue on the base paths. That could set the stage for Ketel Marte to drive in runs with his hot bat. Marte has a 17-game postseason hitting streak.

Arizona needs Carroll, Geraldo Perdomo and others to be on base for Marte to take full advantage of his hot bat.

Marte has hit most pitchers in the postseason and he could be in line for more success on Saturday against a southpaw. The second baseman has six hits off lefties in the postseason, the most on the Arizona roster.

The D-Backs could use a clutch hit from Gabriel Moreno or Christian Walker, who combined to go 0-for-9 in Game 1, but if they don't improve, they can at least rely on Marte and the speed of Carroll and others to put the Rangers under pressure.

Will Texas Solve Merrill Kelly?

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ARLINGTON, TX - OCTOBER 27: Adolis García #53 of the Texas Rangers rounds the bases after hitting a walk-off home run in the 11th inning during Game 1 of the 2023 World Series between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field on Friday, October 27, 2023 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ron Jenkins/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

Texas' hitters have a potentially tough task at hand in Game 2.

Merrill Kelly only allowed nine hits in his 17 postseason innings across three starts.

Kelly contained the Philadelphia Phillies to one run on three hits in NLCS Game 6. He gave up three home runs in NLCS Game 2, but he still contained the Phillies to three hits over 5.2 innings.

Texas needs to solve Kelly's pitching arsenal in order to keep up the momentum earned from the end of Game 1.

The Rangers' best hope to crack Kelly's strong postseason form may be to get to him early, like they did against Zac Gallen in Game 1.

Garcia and Evan Carter each drove in runs and put the Rangers ahead before Gallen got into a rhythm.

An early flurry of runs could force the D-Backs to press more and to potentially make some uncharacteristic mistakes.

Texas may not be in complete trouble if it can't get runs off Kelly because of how it beat Paul Sewald in the ninth inning of Game 1.

However, the best approach should be to get runs off Kelly in order to avoid a potential set of shutdown innings from the Arizona bullpen that we almost saw in Game 1.