World Series Game Three: Allow Me to Reintroduce Myself

November 4, 2001. On that day, the Arizona Diamondbacks won Game Seven of the World Series in walkoff fashion; Luis Gonzalez's famous bases loaded single. Safe money says that "Gonzo" hasn't had to buy a drink in Phoenix since then. That evening was one of celebration, pomp, and circumstance, but it was also the last time that the World Series hit the 48th state. Just a few days shy of 22 years later, the Diamondbacks took the field in front of their home fans for the first time in this year's Fall Classic against the Texas Rangers, with Arizona coming off a dominant win in Game Two to tie the Series.

The pitching matchup was Brandon Pfaadt vs Max Scherzer, with the latter making his second start in this year's postseason. Similar to Game Two, it was mostly quiet, though the Diamondbacks attempted to make some noise in the second. After Christian Walker (who has been struggling in this year's postseason), managed to pick up a hit of his own, Tommy Pham doubled, leading to Walker attempting to score and ignore the third base coach's stop sign. It did not end well for Walker. Out at the plate. As a result, the game remained scoreless entering the third inning, where the Rangers struck first via an RBI single from Marcus Semien. After that, the first pitch tossed to Corey Seager ended up into the seats. A two run shot, Seager's second HR of the Series, and it's 3-0 for the Rangers.

Scherzer pitched the third inning, but it would be his last inning of work, as an injury forced him out of the game. The bullpen took over the rest of the way, and they were dominant for the rest of the game. The 3-0 score held up until the eighth inning, when Geraldo Perdomo's RBI single (off Aroldis Chapman) finally put Arizona on the board. That would be it for the D'Backs offense, as Jose Leclerc closed the door in the ninth inning.

This is why the Rangers acquired Corey Seager, yet the amazing postseason of Adolis Garcia has caused some to actually forget that Seager's a one-time World Series MVP, having earned the nod in 2020 with the Los Angeles Dodgers. From the looks of it, all Seager is doing is reminding us of that fact. Game One saw Seager deliver with a clutch two-run bomb in the ninth inning that forced extra innings, which was followed by Garcia's walk-off shot in the 11th. Seager delivered with another two-run shot in Game Three, and thanks to the run scored by Arizona, that home run is a game-winner. So far, Seager is 4-for-12 with two HRs and four RBIs in this Series. It looks like Garcia has some competition for the MVP honor should Texas go on to win this whole thing.

The Rangers won Game Three, 3-1, to take a 2-1 lead in this year's Fall Classic. When a Series is tied 1-1, the winner of Game Three has gone on to win the whole thing 65% of the time, so the Rangers do have history on their side. In addition, the Rangers improved to 9-0 on the road in this year's postseason, just an amazing record, while this is the first time that the Diamondbacks lost a World Series game at home. Game Four is Tuesday in Phoenix.

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