ARLINGTON, Texas – The Arizona Diamondbacks added an extra bat for the World Series, putting Jace Peterson on the roster Friday and dropping pitcher Slade Cecconi for the matchup against the Texas Rangers.
Texas went with the same 26 players from its AL Championship Series victory over the defending champion Houston Astros.
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“There were times I looked at the lineup card, we were flexed a little bit. And I had Jordan Lawlar and a backup catcher,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “I thought it would be nice to have another left-handed option there.”
Peterson, acquired from Oakland on July 31, appeared in two games in the NL Division Series against Milwaukee. In his only plate appearance, he grounded out as a pinch hitter for Evan Longoria in the eighth inning of 4-2 win over the Brewers that completed a three-game sweep.
Peterson was a defensive replacement for Longoria at third base in the ninth inning of the opening 11-2 win.
The 33-year-old, a veteran of 10 major league seasons, hit .211 with six home runs and 37 RBIs for the Athletics and Diamondbacks, including .183 with no homers and nine RBIs in 41 games and 106 plate appearances with Arizona.
Cecconi, a 24-year-old right-hander who made his debut on Aug. 2, pitched two scoreless innings in the NL Championship Series win over Philadelphia. He appeared in Games 2 and 5, both losses.
“If it comes down to it, we feel like the importance of that left-handed at-bat helping us win a game, and maybe a left-handed start could help us win a game over the fact that the 13th pitcher or 14th pitcher could be there to help us get through a game that we don’t want to use our A or B relievers,” Lovullo said.
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