It was a game that echoed Byung-hyun Kim’s (44) World Series nightmare 22 years ago. The Arizona Diamondbacks, back in the World Series for the first time in 22 years, were denied victory by a heartbreaking blown save by closer Paul Seewald (33).
Arizona lost Game 1 of the best-of-seven 2023 Major League Baseball World Series (WS-7) to the Texas Rangers 5-6 on Monday at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, USA. After giving up a tying two-run shot to Corey Seager in the ninth inning, he fell to his knees after giving up a game-tying homer to Aroldis Garcia in the 11th.
It was an unbelievable loss for Arizona. With a 5-3 lead heading into the bottom of the ninth, they brought in Seawald to close out the win. Prior to his outing, Seward was 1-0 with a 6.00 ERA in eight postseason games this fall. In eight innings, he allowed just three hits and one walk. He also struck out 11 batters, so it was what you might call a shutout.
But in his World Series debut, his scoreless streak came to an end. And it was a deadly one. After a first-pitch strike to leadoff hitter Roeddy Taveras, he suddenly walked him on four straight pitches. He struck out the next batter, Marcus Seamian, on three pitches, but his 93.6 mph (150.6 km/h) four-seam fastball to Corey Seager was high and away.
온라인카지노Seeger couldn’t miss it, and it sailed over the right field fence. Tied 5-5. It was Seager’s first home run of the postseason, and it tied the game. Seawald then gave up a walk and a stolen base to Garcia before loading the bases with Mitch Garber on an automatic high single. He struck out Austin Hedges on three pitches to get out of the jam, but the game was completely in Texas’ favor.
Arizona turned to Miguel Castro after Kyle Nelson retired the side in order in the top of the 10th, but Castro gave up a game-tying solo home run to Garcia in the bottom of the 11th. Garcia crushed a 96.7 mph (155.6 km/h) sinker up the middle of Castro’s five-pitch at-bat. Texas rallied for a 6-5 victory. It was a shocking loss for Arizona.
It was the second time Arizona has been hit by a game-tying home run in the World Series. The first was by South Korean pitcher Byung-hyun Kim in Game 4 of the 2001 World Series against the New York Yankees. Byung-hyun Kim had been dominant in the Division Series and Championship Series, earning three saves in four games and throwing 6.1 scoreless innings, but he faltered in the World Series.
Entering in the eighth inning of Game 4 at Yankee Stadium with a 3-1 lead, Byung-hyun Kim retired the next three batters in a row, but Tino Martinez hit a tying two-run homer with two outs in the ninth to blow the save. He pitched into the 10th inning, but gave up a game-tying solo home run to Derek Jeter.
In Game 5, Byung-hyun Kim entered the game in the ninth inning with a 2-0 lead, but gave up a two-run homer to Scott Brochures with one out to blow the save. Unlike Game 4, there was an immediate pitching change, but the A’s lost the game 2-3 when Albie Lopez gave up the game-winning hit to Alfonso Soriano in the 12th inning of extra innings. It was a happy ending, as Arizona won Games 6 and 7 to take the World Series 4 games to 3, but it was a nightmare for Byung-hyun Kim.
In an official postgame interview with Arizona manager Torrey Lovullo, Kim was summoned back to 2001. “Fans will remember Byung-hyun Kim. You had a couple of blown saves in 2001. How do players and managers feel about this history, is it a burden?” Robullo said, “Not at all. There aren’t many of the current players old enough to remember the situation again. The die-hard fans might remember, but no one really connects with it.”
Rather, Robullo said, “You can’t walk 10 guys in the World Series and expect to win. It was only a matter of time before something happened, and it did,” he said, pointing to the pitchers’ struggles with their pitches and adding, “The impact of a tying home run in the ninth inning is huge, but the World Series is the World Series for a reason. It’s where the best players play. Seawald pitched well, but he had a couple of bad pitches. Taveras had a big at-bat,” he said. Robullo also said, “Sometimes baseball happens like this. We have to find a way to bounce back, clear our minds and play our best. We’ve shown that a lot this year,” he said, vowing to bounce back in Game 2.