In case you haven’t heard, the Texas Rangers are coming home champions for the first time in franchise history after beating the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-0 in game 5 of the World Series.
After a scoreless six innings, it was beginning to look like whoever scored first was going to take the cake. Lucky for Texans, Rangers shortstop, Corey Seager, came in clutch with a leadoff single in the seventh inning, followed by a double from Evan Carter. A ground ball hit up the middle by Mitch Garver allowed Seager to score the first run of the game but as baseball legend Yogi Berra would say, “it ain’t over ‘til it’s over,” and one run just isn’t enough.
They were able to hold the Diamondbacks off for two more innings before pushing two more runs across in the top of the ninth. Marcus Semien put the final nail in the coffin with a 2-run dinger and the Rangers were just 3 outs away from victory. Pitcher Josh Sborz shut it down in the final inning, leaving Arizona no chance for a comeback and secured the World Series title with a strikeout looking against Diamondbacks two-hole hitter, Ketel Marte.
“We weathered the storm,” pitching coach Mike Maddux said. “In April, May, June, s—, we’re not going to lose another game. And then we hit August, and hell, we might not win another game. Every team has that. We knew going in we were going to have a tough slate from June to the All-Star break. We’re playing 30 games in 31 days in three different time zones. We knew that was going to be a tough stretch. We said that in spring training. We limped into the All-Star break, but we came out blazing afterward.
“And now? We’re a bunch of damn champions. It’s the will to win, baby.”
Enough said.
Seager was named the World Series MVP, making him only the fourth player to ever win two series MVP awards. His second was earned while playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2020.
The Rangers win leaves just 5 teams in Major League Baseball without a championship title: Colorado Rockies, Milwaukee Brewers, San Diego Padres, Seattle Mariners and Tampa Bay Rays.
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