Marte’s 18-game postseason hitting streak is the longest ever
Had it been for Friday night’s Game 1 miracle, the Texas Rangers would be on the road facing a 2-0 deficit.
But in any case, the momentum is in the hands of the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The Snakes chipped and manufactured their way to a 9-1 win in Game 2 of the World Series on Saturday.
The Diamondbacks struck first with a solo homer by Gabi Moreno in the fourth inning. Later on, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. hit an RBI single. Texas answered back with a solo homer by Mitch Garver in the fifth. Still, in the seventh, Arizona got it back after leading off the inning with back-to-back doubles off Jordan Montgomery, which resulted in his exit from the game. Two batters later, Corbin Carroll added an RBI single, which was also charged to Montgomery, to make it a three-run lead.
With the bases loaded in the eighth, Ketel Marte, who entered the at-bat 0-for-4 on the night, set an MLB record, extending his postseason hitting streak to 18 games. The previous record had been 17 straight games, shared by Manny Ramirez, Derek Jeter, and Hank Bauer. Marte has only played in 18 postseason games, meaning he has a hit in every postseason game he’s ever played.
Bill Maher already boosted Dean Phillips’ challenge to Biden: ‘He’s 54!’
He drove in two runs in the process, making it a 6-1 game, and Carroll singled in another run immediately after. The Snakes added two more runs in the ninth, totaling seven runs in the final three frames.
Merrill Kelly spun a gem, throwing seven frames while allowing just one run in the fifth. He struck out nine while allowing just three hits and walked none. He lowered his postseason ERA to 2.25.
Montgomery tossed six-plus innings of four-run, 9-hit ball. The lefty has been a rock throughout the entire postseason, entering the night with a 2.16 ERA in four postseason starts. However, some writing is on the wall, as opponents hit .277 against him in those outings. Plus, maybe throwing 45 pitches in Game 7 of the ALCS on two days’ rest — he didn’t hit a single batter. In fact, he only produced one swing-and-miss on the night.
Everyone in the D-Backs’ surprising lineup had at least one hit — 16 on the night compared to Texas’ four.
Tommy Pham went 4-4 with two doubles, while Carroll, Marte, and Emmanuel Rivera each had two RBI.
Chase Field will host its first World Series game since Game 7 of the 2001 World Series on Monday night. Rookie Brandon Pfaadt will look to stay hot for Arizona, while three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer will look to get hot after a slow return from injury.