Ladies and gentleman, the World Series matchup has been set, and we’re just a little bit away from getting this series underway. This year, the World Series will be between the offensive powerhouse that is the Texas Rangers, and the underdog story that is the Arizona Diamondbacks. Both of these teams were in the very bottom of baseball in terms of wins just a few years ago, so to see such a quick turnaround has been a joy to see. Without further ado, let’s get into our teams individually.

Arizona Diamondbacks: The Underdog Story

The Arizona Diamondbacks come into this World Series as the Cinderella Story of the 2023 MLB Postseason. The Diamondbacks posted an 84-78 record coming into the playoffs, which was good enough to secure a Wild Card spot. This was actually the 6th seed in the Postseason, and they’d have to take on the force that was the Milwaukee Brewers to kick things off.

Many people including myself had the Diamondbacks going down in the first round, but they proved a lot of us wrong. The big challenge in this matchup for the Diamondbacks would be how their young lineup would fair against the Brewers power pitching staff. However, the Diamondbacks killed Corbin Burnes, Freddy Peralta, and bullpen arms such as Devin Williams as well. Arizona would set a big precedence, as this was a huge accomplishment for the franchise. More importantly, the young lineup who many people thought would struggle didn’t struggle. Corbin Carroll, Alek Thomas, Gabriel Moreno, and Geraldo Perdomo all produced at times for the club. Their bullpen would also be really solid, as Paul Sewald is a dominant force out of the bullpen.

The Diamondbacks would surely be eliminated in the next round, right? This would end up not being the case, despite everyone betting against the snakes in this series. With the 100-win division rival Los Angeles Dodgers being their opponents, this was going to be a tough series. Or was it? They would make a huge statement in game one, crushing Dodgers superstar Clayton Kershaw very early in game one. After coming out swinging, they’d ride a comfortable 11-2 score until the end of the game, finishing game one with a staple victory for this team. With the next game right around the corner, their ace, Zac Gallen, would be taking the hill. And, the boys would again strike early, and Gallen would pitch a gem. Arizona would take the game 4-2, and take a commanding 2-0 lead. Arizona would head home to try and close out the series, and after a 4 homer inning, they would close out the series with a sweep. Arizona’s young guns would again look very good, and be a key part of their success in this series.

They would then move to the NLCS, where again everyone thought they would go down against the Phillies. With the Phillies looking to get back to the World Series after falling short in 2022, this was going to be one heck of a series. After going down 2-0 early in the series, one game a 10-0 loss, most people counted them out. But after a pair of wins at home, Arizona would take the series to 3-2 heading back to Philly. Most people again saw this as just a few wins, but Arizona would shock the world back in Philly. Arizona would take two straight games in Citizens Bank Park to totally take the series. Not only was this shocking, but to be able to pull this off in front of the “Red October” crowd was a huge win for the Diamondbacks. And with that, the Diamondbacks would be headed to the World Series.

The key pieces for Arizona during this run have obviously been their young players. This is extra funny when you consider that this was a place of concern before the Postseason began. Brandon Pfaadt has obviously been one of the young headliners, as he’s pitched to a 2.70 ERA, and 22 strikeouts in just under 17 innings. Corbin Carroll has been a really solid hitter as well, which is awesome to see. Alek Thomas and Gabriel Moreno have also both been fantastic hitters for Arizona. Headlined with a great mix of rookies and veterans, Arizona has a huge possibility to win it all.

Texas Rangers: A Power House from the AL West

Unlike the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Texas Rangers came into the playoffs with huge expectations. The Rangers were virtually in cruise control all season in the American League West, but choked the division towards the end of the season to the Houston Astros. Texas would end up being the fifth seed, with a 90-72 record, and would begin the playoffs in the Wild Card round.

As I previously mentioned, Texas would begin the playoffs in the Wild Card round. They’d go up against the Tampa Bay Rays, who were just a win shy of 100 this year. Although they had high expectations, they’d have bullpen troubles during the end of the season, which would really hurt their odds in the eyes of most people. However, Texas would come out and shock the world. Jordan Montgomery would begin the series on the mound, and he’d pitch an amazing game. With a great game from their pitching staff, their ever-present offense would would score 4 runs, and they’d take the game in a 4-0 shutout victory. After this strong game one, they’d head into game two looking to do more of the same. They’d end up doing just that, and actually more. Instead of four runs, they’d score 7 in a 7-1 victory. With a strong outing from Nathan Eovaldi on the mound, their offense was put into prime position to succeed, and they’d do just that. Evan Carter would also begin his breakout during this series as well, putting up a fantastic two games in the Wild Card round. Their bullpen, which was the main concern heading into the playoffs, looked incredible against Tampa Bay.

The Rangers would head into the ALDS, ultimately going up against the number one seed Baltimore Orioles. Texas and Baltimore would play their fair share of games against one another during the regular season, and they’d end up splitting their 6 games at 3-3. But, it was all Texas during this matchup. Game one would be the closest game of the series, as Texas would win a thrilling, 3-2 ball game. The most important takeaway from this game? The Rangers pitching staff again looked really good. Their hitters also came through when they needed to, and that was a big part of their first victory. Game two would be even better for Texas, as they would win another thrilling game, with an 11-8 score. Although Jordan Montgomery would get hit around a little bit, the offense had his back. Especially Mitch Garver, who would lead the way with a grand slam. Their bullpen would also be hurt a little in this game for the first time yet, but nonetheless, they hung on for a win. Looking for a series victory back in Texas, the Rangers would do just that, and sweep the one seed Orioles with a 7-1 victory in game three. They would immediately jump on Dean Kremer early on. With a huge offensive explosion, and even more good looks from their pitching staff, the Rangers would head into the ALCS very confidently.

Texas would be going up against the really strong Houston Astros team in the ALCS, and most people weren’t sure how this series would go. Texas would begin the series on the road, in Houston, and they’d play some great baseball. Texas would win the first game 2-0, and the second game 5-4. But, they’d struggle a lot more back at home. This would become the narrative of the ALCS, as both teams played much better on the road than at home. Texas would lose the first game back at home 8-5, the second game with a killer 10-3 loss, and the third game at home 5-4 on a motivation killing blown save. Heading back to Houston in a must win situation, Texas would play great when it counted. They’d win game six in blowout fassion, as they took down Houston with a 9-2 score to tie things up. After forcing a game seven, Texas would again prove why they were so good this year, taking home the American League Pennant with an 11-4 victory. With the ALCS now in the books, the Rangers are just four wins away from a World Series championship.

Like I said before, me and many others shared the same concern with the Rangers bullpen, but we have been proved wrong quite a few times. Their pitching as a whole is really strong. Jordan Montgomery has pitched like a Postseason ace, Max Scherzer is a beast, and Nathan Eovaldi has pitched really well this Postseason. Their bullpen has also been really good, as they haven’t seen many runs allowed by their bullpen arms as a whole. But the main place the Rangers will succeed in the World Series is through their offense, which is the driving factor of this team. From Corey Seager, to Adolis García, and even to Josh Jung, this Rangers offense is stacked from top to bottom. All things to consider, this name is very dangerous.

Arizona vs Texas: How They’ll Fair Head to Head

Comparing these two teams head to head is really tough, especially with how they’d played as of late. Arizona is the obvious young, underdog team in this World Series, and the Texas Rangers are a big offensive powerhouse. However, these two teams played each other four times this year, and the results might shock you.

The Arizona Diamondbacks would take 3 of the 4 games against the Rangers this season, which I honestly was surprised to see. The scores of these matchups I also felt were pretty shocking. Texas’ one win against the Diamondbacks would come on a 6-4 win in May, but Texas struggled after that. Arizona would win the next game of the series 12-7, which is a staple victory looking back on it. Arizona would win the next game 4-3, and the next one after that 6-3. This series was also in late August, so it’s a somewhat recent point of reference for this World Series. So, when it comes to the on the field matchups of these two teams, Arizona obviously looked to be the better team. But, both of these teams have had huge shifts in momentum since then, so anything can happen.

I personally believe that the Texas Rangers will take home this World Series in 6 games, as I believe they’re the better overall team. The Rangers are very offensive centered as a whole, as they’ve had multiple blowout performances in October. When you look at the Rangers lineup, there really isn’t a guy you can feel confident about pitching to, as opposed to Arizona’s lineup where you can find those hitters. When it comes to Arizona, their lineup is made up of a few main producers, and people outside of this group are easier to get out. In addition, the Rangers bullpen has looked really good, which is a polar opposite to their regular season showing, and what I thought would be the main area of concern for this team in October. The Rangers pitching staff as well as their strong offense have been two of the main talking points of this season, and I think that with them being as hot as they are right now, they’ll be tough to beat. Arizona definitely has weaker spots in their team, as outside of Brandon Pfaadt, I’m unsure of how they’ll fair deep in the rotation. Their bullpen has been really good, and so has their offense, but overall I think that this Diamondbacks team is just weaker in comparison to the Texas Rangers.

The World Series Preview Podcast

In addition to this World Series preview article, me and my co-host Cadeyn McCrory, also chatted about this on the BSBWrites Podcast. If you want to hear more in depth breakdowns on the MLB Postseason, the Rangers and Diamondbacks, as well as the World Series as a whole, check out the podcast episode below.