Being up 2-1 in a World Series is all well and good, but if both your best power hitter and one of your best pitchers are done for the season, you can't be blamed if you panic a little. The Rangers didn't.
They chose to start Travis Jankowski in right. Yes, Janko didn't have the power bat that Adolis Garcia so regularly sported, but he was a defensive upgrade with contact perks, and a genuinely fun fringe player to rally around, in the same vein as Brett Phillips or Ben Zobrist. Janko absolutely delivered during Game 4, with a 2-run double during the 3rd that sparked the defensive onslaught that would lead to Marcus Semien making it 10-0. He also had an insane diving catch that made headlines, all the more reason to love this guy. Even though this series, if it is won by Texas, will belong to Corey Seager and Adolis Garcia, Jankowski being the hero last night was kinda awesome. Like 'Pham giving his at bat to Peterson', but on a much larger scale.
Also, hats off to Andrew Heaney for shutting the D-Backs down for 5 innings and lessening their impact. The Rangers' starting depth means in addition to Eovaldi and Montgomery battering you, somebody like Heaney can jump in and do something just as cool. If this somehow needs a Game 7, the ball may be handed to Dane Dunning in a starting position, they just have that many guys on hand. Though an honorable mention goes to Ryne Nelson from Arizona, for staying in for the majority of the game in relief and striking out 6 guys in 5.1 innings. He may not have been trusted to start games, but he can still act like a starter.
I'll admit that the D-Backs made it closer than it should have been at the end, as this was a 11-7 victory, but the Rangers once again pulled out a double-digit win and put the series into check. Tonight, they could end the whole thing. It's a matter of whether Ketel Marte and the Diamondbacks will let it happen.
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