Where will Rangers, D-backs turn for Game 4 starts?

PHOENIX -- On the eve of Game 3 of the World Series, neither Rangers manager Bruce Bochy nor D-backs skipper Torey Lovullo was ready to divulge his team's pitching plan for Game 4.

The reason is twofold. For one, with the series tied, all the focus is rightfully on Monday's pivotal Game 3 at Chase Field. Second, the path to 27 (or more) outs in Game 4 could be largely impacted by how Game 3 unfolds.

"If we need to maneuver to the bullpen, I'm going to take care of Game 3 during Game 3," Lovullo said. "I can't worry about what some of the contingencies will be beyond that. At times, I do have to have an open mind for Game 4, but we're going to do our absolute best to go out there and do our job in Game 3."

While neither team is expected to name a Game 4 starter until after Game 3, that won't stop us from peeking ahead and diving into some of the key factors that will play into those decisions.

First and foremost, what can we expect from the G3 starters?
Rangers: It feels strange saying this about a three-time Cy Young-winning, World Series-champion starter, but it's hard for Texas to count on a deep outing from Max Scherzer. While he managed to return from a late-season right shoulder strain, Scherzer has totaled only 6 2/3 innings in his two postseason starts.

“I don't know what my finishing pitch count number is actually going to be,” Scherzer said on Sunday. “I'm still trying to build back up in that regard.”

D-backs: Rookie right-hander Brandon Pfaadt came up huge for Arizona in the National League Championship Series. After putting up a 5.72 ERA in the regular season, Pfaadt helped right the ship with a dominant nine-strikeout performance in Game 3 to help prevent the D-backs from falling into a 3-0 hole against the Phillies. He followed it up with four strong innings in Game 7.

But Pfaadt faced exactly 18 batters each in Games 3 and 7. Lovullo has been hesitant to allow him to face anyone for a third time -- an area in which Pfaadt struggled significantly during the regular season.

"Brandon Pfaadt has been improving," Lovullo said. "I've been saying 18 [batters], plus or minus four -- maybe I'll go a little bit further."

How did each team handle Game 4 of the LCS?
Rangers: Andrew Heaney got the start, but he was tagged for three runs off four hits and one walk while recording only two outs. He was followed by a series of relievers in Dane Dunning (2 2/3 innings), Cody Bradford (two-thirds of an inning), Chris Stratton (1 2/3 IP), Will Smith (1 1/3 IP) and Martín Pérez (two IP).

D-backs: Arizona went with a full-on bullpen game, using eight relievers to cover nine innings. Lefty Joe Mantiply got the start, followed by Luis Frías, Kyle Nelson, Miguel Castro, Andrew Saalfrank, Ryan Thompson, Kevin Ginkel and Paul Sewald.

Nobody threw more than 25 pitches, with Thompson pitching a team-high two innings.

So who are the options for Game 4 of the World Series?
Rangers: Obviously, Texas could go with Heaney again -- but that clearly didn't work out too well in Game 4 of the ALCS.

Another option could be Jon Gray. The veteran righty was in the rotation all season -- posting a 4.12 ERA over 29 starts -- but he has not started a game since Sept. 25. Gray had a 5.70 ERA over his final 17 regular-season starts, leading to a bullpen role for October.

Gray has made two relief appearances this postseason, including striking four over 1 2/3 scoreless innings in the Rangers' Game 1 victory. Of course, that means he would be pitching on just three days' rest from that 26-pitch relief outing, but it certainly wouldn't rule him out from tackling an inning or two.

Martín Pérez also has starting experience, and he pitched well in relief down the stretch after being moved to the bullpen following the acquisitions of Scherzer and Jordan Montgomery. He had a 1.50 ERA over his final 11 relief appearances this season, but he has been used mostly in mop-up duty this postseason -- including a four-run relief appearance in Game 2.

D-backs: The Rangers are similar to the Phillies in that they have a dangerous left-handed hitter in Corey Seager near the top of their lineup. Lovullo used Joe Mantiply to neutralize lefty hitters Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper in Game 4 of the NLCS, but Mantiply has since become Arizona’s highest-leverage southpaw out of the ‘pen.

So if Lovullo wants to save Mantiply for later in the game but still start a lefty, it’s possible he could turn to Kyle Nelson. The 27-year-old got Seager to ground out with two on and two out in the 10th inning of Game 1, then came back out to retire Evan Carter -- who has hit third in this series but sat against lefty starters in the ALCS -- to open the 11th.