The Texas Rangers and the Arizona Diamondbacks are playing in the World Series.
It’s surely a dream scenario for both franchises, particularly for the D-Backs.
Texas invested heavily in the last two offseasons, so it’s not that unexpected to see them in the last series of the season, but Arizona lost 110 games just a couple of years ago.
The two squads are about to play Game 4 of the Fall Classic on Tuesday, on Halloween.
We are sure many of their fans agree that it’s a “scary” situation to be in considering the starters announced for the game.
The Rangers are going to send Andrew Heaney to the mound, and Arizona will counter with reliever Joe Mantiply.
As MLB insider Bryan Hoch put it, it’s a fitting Halloween game.
“Let’s be honest. This is exactly the Halloween pitching matchup we would’ve predicted on Opening Day,” he tweeted.
Let’s be honest. This is exactly the Halloween pitching matchup we would’ve predicted on Opening Day. pic.twitter.com/YjXV5IQZUw
— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) October 31, 2023
There is a bit of humor in that tweet, but the Rangers, having splashed the cash on Jacob deGrom and sacrificing a top prospect for Max Scherzer (not to mention giving Jon Gray a big contract in the 2021-22 offseason) certainly would have opted for any of those three names over Heaney.
Heaney is not bad by any means, but he can be very homer-prone and that, in the World Series, could be the difference between winning and losing.
The Diamondbacks have developed some impressive young players and even improved Merrill Kelly to the point where he is virtually an ace.
However, they are forced to go with a bullpen game in the World Series because they only trust Zac Gallen, Kelly, and Brandon Pfaadt to start.
Happy Halloween, everyone!
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