Pitching depth and creativity are key traits of most World Series teams. Managers are not rolling out aces or even regular starters every game anymore. Times have changed, as evidenced by the Game 4 pitching decisions made by both the Texas Rangers and Arizona Diamondbacks.
Several hours before Game 3 even gets underway in Phoenix on Monday, Texas announced Jon Gray will start in Tuesday’s Game 4 while Arizona opts for a bullpen outing, per Bob Nightengale of USA TODAY Sports. In what will be a critical matchup, regardless of tonight’s outcome, each team will be rolling the dice.
This type of strategy is not new for either Bruce Bochy or Torey Lovullo, especially for the latter. The D-backs have little choice but to trust their capable crop of relievers given that rookie Brandon Pfaadt is their No. 3 postseason starter. It has paid tremendous dividends for them in every round of the MLB playoffs and will play a major part if the franchise is to secure its second ever championship.
The Rangers have put their faith in Nathan Eovaldi, Jordan Montgomery and Max Scherzer (when available), but left-hander Andrew Heaney has accounted for 4 1/3 innings of starter’s work throughout their run. Bochy is shaking things up in Game 4, though.
Jon Gray landed on the injured list (forearm tightness) at the end of the regular season, which forced him to miss the first couple weeks of postseason play. He has a 3.38 ERA in two appearances this month and pitched less than a full inning against the Diamondbacks in Game 2 over the weekend. Gray is a competent arm but did surrender four runs in 1 1/3 innings in a National League Wild Card loss for the Colorado Rockies six years ago.
Take a wild guess who that poor effort came against. The veteran righty will look to avenge that shortcoming in Chase Field on Tuesday. This unpredictable pitching set-up should have a huge impact on the Diamondbacks and Rangers’ respective World Series chances.
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