DBacks up 5-3 through 7 innings of Game 1

The Arizona Diamondbacks are playing in their first World Series since 2001, facing the Texas Rangers. Game 1 of the Fall Classic is 5 p.m. Friday at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, and will be shown on Fox.

Diamondbacks’ running game continues in overdrive

The Diamondbacks are stealing bases again at a high clip, helping them build their 5-3 lead in Game 1.

With four steals through seven innings — by Ketel Marte, Christian Walker, Geraldo Perdomo and Alek Thomas — Arizona has now swiped 17 consecutive bags this postseason. They have four steals in each of the past three games, and became the first team to steal four times in Game 1 of a World Series since 1908, the fifth Fall Classic in baseball history.

Diamondbacks bullpen protects lead through seven innings

ARLINGTON, Texas — Ever since falling behind 2-0 in the first inning, Game 1 of the World Series has been smooth sailing for the Diamondbacks. They lead, 5-3, after seven, having recovered from a rough first inning in a way they were unable to in three NLCS losses to the Phillies.

Zac Gallen exited after five inconsistent innings, handing the ball to Ryan Thompson. Thompson worked around a walk and a single to complete a scoreless sixth. Joe Mantiply then pitched a 1-2-3 seventh, having no trouble against the top three hitters in the Rangers’ lineup.

For the first three rounds of the playoffs, manager Torey Lovullo had used Andrew Saalfrank as his high-leverage reliever against left-handed hitters. Saalfrank, though, has allowed eight walks against just 19 batters in the postseason, leading Lovullo to slot Mantiply into that role.

—Theo Mackie

Zac Gallen exits Game 1 with the lead after five innings

ARLINGTON, Texas — Zac Gallen recovered from a rocky first inning, pitched out of trouble in the third and retired seven of the final eight batters he faced before departing Game 1 of the World Series with a lead on Friday night.

With the Diamondbacks ahead, 5-3, as play entered the bottom of the sixth, Gallen finished with three runs allowed in five innings. He allowed four hits and four walks, striking out five.

His night was defined by his ability to navigate out of a pair of tight spots in the early innings. In the first, having already allowed two runs, he got a key double-play ball from Mitch Garver to escape further trouble.

Then in the third, after retiring the first two batters, Gallen allowed a hit and three walks in a four-batter span to force home a run, but he got Jonah Heim to fly to center to end the inning.

He was relieved by Ryan Thompson in the sixth.

—Nick Piecoro

Ketel Marte ties postseason record with RBI double

ARLINGTON, Texas — The Diamondbacks have extended their lead in a back-and-forth Game 1 of the World Series, jumping ahead of the Rangers, 5-3.

After Zac Gallen posted his second scoreless frame of the night in the fourth inning, Geraldo Perdomo led off the top of the fifth with a single up the middle. He then stole second as Corbin Carroll struck out. The extra base may have been critical, as Perdomo was able to score with ease from second base on Ketel Marte’s double into right-center field.

Marte now has a hit in all 17 postseason games in his career. It’s tied for the longest postseason hitting streak in MLB history, joining Hank Bauer, Derek Jeter and Manny Ramirez, and the longest to start a postseason career. He now has 20 hits this postseason, the most by any player in DBacks history.

Rangers’ starter Nathan Eovaldi exited the game after a walk to Christian Walker two batters after Marte’s double.

—Theo Mackie

Tommy Pham’s homer puts Diamondbacks back in front

ARLINGTON, Texas — Tommy Pham led off the top of the fourth inning by blasting a solo home run to left field, giving the Diamondbacks back the lead they lost a half-inning earlier.

The Diamondbacks lead, 4-3, going to the bottom of the fourth.

For Pham, the home run was his third of the postseason and second in his past three games. He drilled a 1-0 pitch from Eovaldi, an inside splitter, out to left field. Pham struck out in his first at-bat, swinging through a pair of splitters.

The teams have now scored in three consecutive half-innings.

—Nick Piecoro

Gallen surrenders lead with walks

ARLINGTON, Texas — Zac Gallen seemed to be settling into Game 1. After allowing two runs in the first inning, he retired the side in the second and got two strikeouts to start the third. But he then let four straight batters reach base, allowing another run and knotting the score at 3-3 after three innings.

Corey Seager was the first Ranger to reach base in the inning, walking on five pitches. Evan Carter then snuck a groundball double down the left field line. That’s when things got bad for Gallen, who proceeded to walk both Adolis García and Mitch Garver, each in a full count. The walk to Garver was Gallen’s fourth of the night and brough home a run.

Gallen was able to get Jonah Heim to fly out to center to end the inning. He has thrown 71 pitches.

—Theo Mackie

Diamondbacks respond, move in front vs. Rangers

ARLINGTON, Texas — Corbin Carroll’s triple to center field drove home two runs, and he used his blazing speed to score the go-ahead run one batter later, giving the Diamondbacks a 3-2 lead over the Rangers in the top of the third inning of Game 1 on Friday night.

With two men aboard, Carroll stayed back on a 0-2 splitter from Rangers right-hander Nathan Eovaldi and lined it toward left-center. Center fielder Leody Taveras raced to his right but was unable to cut it off, and Carroll easily made it to third with a two-run triple.

Ketel Marte followed by hitting a sharp grounder to first. Carroll broke for home immediately and beat the throw of first baseman Nathaniel Lowe. Lowe’s throw pulled catcher Jonah Heim slightly up the third-base line.

—Nick Piecoro

Rangers grab early lead vs. Zac Gallen, DBacks

ARLINGTON, Texas — Evan Carter gave the Texas Rangers an early lead, lining a fastball from Diamondbacks right-hander Zac Gallen into the right-center field gap to score Corey Seager in the bottom of the first inning. Adolis Garcia followed with a run-scoring hit of his own.

The Rangers lead, 2-0, in Game 1 of the World Series at Globe Life Field.

Gallen retired leadoff man Marcus Semien but walked Seager, then got to two strikes on Carter but could not put him away. Gallen’s 2-2 fastball caught too much of the middle of the plate and Carter drilled it for a double.

Garcia followed by hitting a 3-1 breaking ball from Gallen into left field for an run-scoring single. It was his 21st RBI of the postseason, tying David Freese’s record set in 2011 for the St. Louis Cardinals.

Texas scored 20 runs in the final two games of its AL Championship Series win over Houston.

The Diamondbacks went down in order in the top of the first against Rangers right-hander Nathan Eovaldi.

—Nick Piecoro

Diamondbacks unveil full-strength lineup for Game 1

ARLINGTON, Texas — The Diamondbacks’ lineup for Game 1 of the World Series is bereft of surprises. It is the same starting nine that manager Torey Lovullo has used against right-handed starting pitchers in every postseason game except Game 5 of the NLCS, when he benched Tommy Pham for the left-handed Pavin Smith.

The lineup continuity shows faith in some players who struggled during the NLCS. Christian Walker was 2-for-22 in that series but is still in his typical clean-up spot. Pham went 2-for-20 but is batting fifth. And Evan Longoria went 2-for-19 but is still in the lineup at third base.

Here is Arizona’s full nine behind starting pitcher Zac Gallen for its first World Series game in 22 years:

Corbin Carroll, RF
Ketel Marte, 2B
Gabriel Moreno, C
Christian Walker, 1B
Tommy Pham, DH
Lourdes Gurriel Jr., LF
Alek Thomas, CF
Evan Longoria, 3B
Geraldo Perdomo, SS

—Theo Mackie

Diamondbacks could shake up bullpen roles

ARLINGTON, Texas — The Diamondbacks’ bullpen has been among the driving forces in their playoff run. They have not lost a game in which they held a lead and their four highest-leverage relievers have combined for a 1.45 ERA. Closer Paul Sewald and set-up man Kevin Ginkel have not allowed a run.

One of those high-leverage relievers, though, has shown signs of trouble. Andrew Saalfrank, who was an instant revelation after his promotion to the majors, has faced 19 batters in the postseason and walked eight of them. He has been deployed mainly against lefty-heavy portions of opposing lineups, but his lack of control in recent appearances makes it a nervous proposition to match him up with hitters like the Rangers’ Corey Seager and Evan Carter.

“It’s not ideal,” Lovullo said. “But there’s specific reasons why he’s been pitching in those games. He has gotten big outs.”

Lovullo said before Game 1 that he did not know whether he will continue to deputize Saalfrank in key late-inning spots during the World Series. If he does change Saalfrank’s role, Lovullo said he will continue to use a left-hander to match up in those spots, rather than exclusively having right-handers in the back end of his bullpen.

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That would likely mean Joe Mantiply would become Arizona’s high-leverage lefty. Mantiply has faced 24 batters in the playoffs, walked three, struck out four and allowed three earned runs, all of which came in a 10-0 loss to the Phillies in Game 2 of the NLCS.

—Theo Mackie

Diamondbacks add infielder Jace Peterson to World Series roster

ARLINGTON, Texas — The Diamondbacks announced their roster for the World Series on Friday morning ahead of Game 1 against the Texas Rangers, making only one change from the group that beat the Philadelphia Phillies in seven games in the National League Championship Series.

Infielder Jace Peterson was added to the roster in place of right-hander Slade Cecconi, a move manager Torey Lovullo seemed to hint at during a session with reporters on Thursday.

“It really comes down to an extra pitcher or an extra position player,” Lovullo said on Thursday afternoon. “We didn’t quite get into that extra pitcher (during the NLCS). So we feel like there could be a need for the extra position player.”

Cecconi threw two innings in the NLCS. The club still has right-hander Ryne Nelson to provide length. Nelson appeared in only one game in the Phillies’ series, giving up three runs in two-thirds of an inning.

Peterson is a veteran left-handed hitter capable of playing multiple infield positions. The Diamondbacks haven’t received much production out of their third basemen, and Peterson gives them another option there, but it would be surprising if Lovullo gravitated away from veteran Evan Longoria.

Perhaps Peterson will be an option off the bench in games started by lefties Jordan Montgomery and Andrew Heaney. Lovullo has been starting Emmanuel Rivera against lefty starters and could now hit for Rivera against a right-handed reliever later in the game.

Peterson did not finish the year on a strong note offensively. A trade deadline acquisition, he hit just .183/.276/.258 in 93 at-bats with the Diamondbacks.

World Series Game 1 pitching matchup

Diamondbacks RHP Zac Gallen (2-2, 5.24 ERA) vs. Rangers RHP Nathan Eovaldi (4-0, 2.42)

The last time Gallen faced the Rangers, on Aug. 22, he had one of his best outings of the season, striking out 11 in six innings of one-run ball. To that point, he had a 2.01 ERA in August, rediscovering the form he had during a dominant run in April. At the time, he was considered the favorite for the National League Cy Young. … Since then, Gallen has not been himself. In his last 11 starts, including the postseason, he has a 5.04 ERA. … Gallen’s strikeout numbers have been concerning in the playoffs, with just 13 in 22 1/3 innings, barely half of his regular season rate. … The Diamondbacks lost both of Gallen’s starts against the Phillies. Most recently, he allowed four runs in six innings while striking out just one in Game 5. … Like Gallen, Eovaldi did not finish the regular season well. After coming back from the injured list in early September, he had a 9.30 ERA in six starts. … In the playoffs, though, Eovaldi has been sharp. … He allowed just one run each of his first two playoff starts. In two starts against the Astros in the ALCS, he pitched 12 1/3 innings, allowed five runs and struck out 13 batters.