Texas Rangers' Andrew Heaney, Diamondbacks' Joe Mantiply is Unusual World Series Game

The Texas Rangers tabbed Andrew Heaney opposite Arizona Diamondbacks' Joe Mantiply as both bullpens will get lots of work Tuesday night in Game 4.

PHOENIX — The Texas Rangers will turn to Andrew Heaney as the starter in Game 4 of the World Series on Tuesday night at Chase Field. The Arizona Diamondbacks are going with to left-hander Joe Mantiply.

In separate league championship series, each started Game 4. Those starts led to vastly different results.

Heaney (0-0, 6.00) wasn’t able to get out of the first inning against the Houston Astros on Oct. 19. He put the Rangers in a corner early, giving up four hits and three earned runs and faced just seven hitters before he was pulled for Dane Dunning.

Heaney, a starter in the regular season until the final month, usually turns in up to five innings a start.

Texas Rangers pitcher Andrew Heaney last started in Game 4 of the ALCS against the Houston Astros / © Stephen Brashear-USA TODAY Sports

Mantiply (2-0, 4.26) started a designed bullpen game for the Diamondbacks against Philadelphia on Oct. 20. He pitched one inning, giving up a hit and striking out one. He yielded to seven other pitchers after that as the D-backs won.

It's not exactly the sort of matchup one would expect in a World Series. But both teams have used their best starters in the first three games of the series, which the  Rangers lead 2-1 lead.

Is there something to be taken from each outing?

The Rangers had hoped Heaney would last longer, but they had to turn to Dunning earlier than expected. Dunning threw 2 2/3 innings and ended up taking the loss, giving up three hits, three runs and three walks while striking out four.

The Astros had a 7-2 lead after four innings and the Rangers used the game as a way of emptying their bullpen, throwing Cody Bradford, Chris Stratton, Will Smith and Martín Pérez.

As the Diamondbacks designed their Game 4 as a bullpen game, it was no surprise to see a cavalcade of relievers behind Mantiply.

Some of them threw in Texas' 3-1 Game 3 win Monday, including Luis Frias and Miguel Castro.

Kyle Nelson, Andrew Saalfrank, Ryan Thompson, Kevin Ginkel and Paul Sewald also were used in Game 4 against Philadelphia. Ginkel got the win with a clean eighth and Sewald notched a save in the ninth, as Arizona won 6-5 at Chase Field.

That win evened the series with the Phillies and the D-backs ultimately won in seven.

The Rangers’ 10-3 loss to Houston evened that series. Texas won in seven.

The end result of those series is about the only thing that the last outings of Heaney and Mantiply have in common entering Game 4.

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You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.

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