The Arizona Diamondbacks are looking to even up the World Series against the Texas Rangers in Game 4 of the series on Tuesday night. And one error from Diamondbacks star Christian Walker led to a disastrous inning that the team may not recover from.
Things got off to a horrible start for the Diamondbacks in the crucial Game 4. The Rangers quickly got off to a 5-0 lead thanks to three straight two-out hits in the top of the second inning, capped off by a two-run home run by Corey Seager.
A 5-0 lead is clearly a big hole to get out of. But things got even worse for Arizona in the top of the third inning after Walker’s costly error.
The Ranger yet again found themselves in scoring position, with runners on first and second base with only one out. Rangers catcher Jonah Heim hit a ground ball to Walker at first base, and it looked like it was going to be an inning-ending double play.
Instead, the typically sure-handed Walker bobbled the ball as he went to try to throw it to second base. He wasn’t able to get control of the ball back, and the Diamondbacks ended up getting nobody out on the play.
The Rangers would go on to capitalize on this crucial error in a big way. Rangers outfielder Travis Jankowski hit a three-run double to make it 7-0. And then Rangers second baseman Marcus Semien would put the game even further out of reach later in the inning with a three-run home run to make it 10-0.
The error from Walker ended up being a five-run mistake. And Diamondbacks fans were quick to place much of the blame on him for this horrendous start to Game 4.
What makes the play even worse is that Walker is typically an excellent fielder. He even won the Gold Glove award for first basemen in the National League last season.
To put it simply, Walker has not shown up in the biggest moments of this series thus far, struggling both at the plate and now defensively as well. And this error could very well be what gives the Rangers a 3-1 series lead.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.