World Series 2023: Top Storylines for Rangers vs. Diamondbacks Game 5

The Texas Rangers are one win away from securing their first World Series title in franchise history.

An offensive outburst led by Corey Seager and Marcus Semien put the Rangers in a spot to clinch inside Chase Field in Game 5 (8:03 p.m. ET, Fox).

Arizona will turn to its ace to keep its season alive. Zac Gallen needs to go five or six innings to keep the Texas bats at bay and preserve some bullpen arms for the final few frames.

Gallen must outpitch Nathan Eovaldi, like he did in Game 1, when he allowed three earned runs to Eovaldi's five.

Arizona is not out of the Fall Classic yet, but to send the series back to Globe Life Field, it must get a great outing from its ace and support him properly at the plate.

Rangers One Win Away from First Title

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PHOENIX, AZ - OCTOBER 31: Marcus Semien #2 of the Texas Rangers hits a three-run home run in the third inning during Game 4 of the 2023 World Series between the Texas Rangers and the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on Tuesday, October 31, 2023 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Rob Tringali/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

Texas' World Series hopes took a hit when Adolis Garcia was taken off the series roster before Tuesday's Game 4.

The Rangers did not let that injury affect them and put up 11 runs on the Arizona bullpen.

Seager's third home run of the series opened up the contest in the second inning, but what followed was even more important to the team's success.

Marcus Semien broke out of his postseason slump to provide a home run, triple and five RBI.

Texas needed another player to step up in Garcia's absence. It got multi-hit games out of Semien, Josh Jung and Travis Jankowski, who was in the lineup as Garcia's replacement.

The Game 4 success put the Rangers in an ideal situation because now it needs one win in three games to land the first title in franchise history.

The Rangers would ideally want to finish off the World Series on Wednesday with Eovaldi on the mound.

Texas will be at a pitching disadvantage in Games 6 and 7. Arizona will throw out Merrill Kelly and Brandon Pfaadt, while the Rangers will answer with Jordan Montgomery and potentially Jon Gray as a Max Scherzer replacement.

Texas would rather get some big hits off Gallen and have Eovaldi turn in a quality start so that Arizona does not gain some belief going back to Arlington.

Arizona Needs Zac Gallen's Best Outing of Season

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ARLINGTON, TEXAS - OCTOBER 27: Zac Gallen #23 of the Arizona Diamondbacks pitches in the first 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)

Gallen needs to produce the best performance of his 2023 season, or even his career, on Wednesday to keep Arizona's faint championship hopes alive.

Gallen battled through his Game 1 start to keep the D-Backs ahead before Seager and Garcia won the game with their bats in the ninth and 11th innings.

Arizona's ace walked four batters, gave up three earned runs on four hits and struck out five batters over five innings.

Gallen must cut down on the walks and the run concession to match what Eovaldi produces for Texas.

There is some concern that Gallen can limit Texas' offense because he allowed 16 earned runs and walked 13 batters in his five postseason starts.

Gallen was far better at home in the regular season, but he gave up two home runs in six innings of his lone postseason start inside Chase Field that sent the NLCS back to Philadelphia.

The 28-year-old needs five or six strong innings so that Torey Lovullo can turn the game over to his high-leverage arms in the bullpen, none of whom worked in Game 4 thanks to Ryne Nelson's 5.1 inning outing.