Arizona Diamondbacks even the World Series at a game a piece with a dominant 9-1 victory over the Texas Rangers in Game 2… as Ketel Marte breaks postseason hit-streak record held by Derek Jeter, two others

Gabriel Moreno belted a home run and was one of four players to drive in a run as the Arizona Diamondbacks leveled the World Series again with a 9-1 victory over the Texas Rangers.

Moreno’s home run opened the scoring in the top of the fourth inning, when he hit a solo shot 450 feet to center field at Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas.

Arizona also rode a 4-for-4 hitting night from Tommy Pham and a dominant pitching performance from starter Merrill Kelly, who pitched seven innings and gave up one run on three hits while striking out nine.

In this game, Arizona infielder Ketel Marte went 1-for-5, but set the MLB record for the longest postseason hitting streak of 18 games.

He breaks a tie he had with ex-Red Sox outfielder Manny Ramirez, former New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter and former Yankees outfielder Hank Bauer of 17 consecutive games.

Merrill Kelly had a strong performance for Arizona, striking out nine batters in seven innings

A night after squandering a two-run ninth-inning lead in a 6-5, 11-inning loss, the Diamondbacks outhit Texas 16-4 and never trailed again.

Emmanuel Rivera also had a two-run single, and rookie Corbin Carroll had a pair of RBI singles. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and 38-year-old Evan Longoria each added a point for Arizona, which earned its first World Series victory after four losses dating back to 2001.

Kelly, a 35-year-old right-hander, had an unusual career path. After six seasons in the minors, he detoured to South Korea from 2015-2018 before making his major league debut with Arizona in 2019. He went 12-8 with a 3.29 ERA in 30 starts this season and is 3-1 with a 2.25 ERA in four postseason starts.

Kelly struck out nine, walked none and recorded just one three-ball count, allowing his only run on Mitch Garver’s leadoff homer in the fifth.

Pham, a trade deadline acquisition from the New York Mets, went on a 3-for-29 skid, including a Game 1 homer.

He singled in the second, hit opposite doubles to right in the fourth and sixth, and singled in the eighth. He was also eliminated at second base by Montgomery

Montgomery entered the postseason 3-0 and posted a win in relief in Monday’s Game 7 win at AL pennant-winning Houston, only the second time he’s pitched out of the bullpen in his big-league career. career.

His velocity was about 1.5 mph lower than his season average, and Diamondbacks batters failed to connect on just two of the 37 pitches they swung at.

The series now moves to Arizona even after the Rangers hit a combined .130 in Game 2

In this game, Ketel Marte (4) also set a new MLB record for longest postseason hit streak

Moreno put Arizona ahead when Montgomery left a full-count curveball over the middle of the plate. Moreno hit the ball in left center in Arizona’s bullpen, giving him four postseason home runs and 10 RBIs in 14 games.

Pham sliced ​​a two-out double into the right field corner and scored on Gurriel’s single for a 2-0 lead.

Arizona added a cushion in the sixth when Alek Thomas doubled to the right-center gap and scored when Longoria, in his first World Series since 2008, hit a hard grounder that got past rookie third baseman Josh Jung and down the line for an RBI single.

Marte and Caroll singled in the eighth off Martín Pérez.

The series – the first ever between two Wild Card teams – now focuses on Phoenix, where the Diamondbacks will host the next three games – and hope to win all three to win their second title.