Texas Rangers: 2023 World Series Champions
The 2023 Major League Baseball (MLB) season is officially over. On Wednesday, Nov. 1, the World Series concluded as the Texas Rangers won their first-ever championship. Despite a rather underwhelming matchup, the series itself was exciting.
The first game in the series was held in Texas, as the Arizona Diamondbacks entered their opponent's stadium. Arizona put their best pitcher, Zac Gallen, on the mound to face Rangers’ Nathan Eovaldi. Gallen’s performance was not ideal, as he allowed three earned runs in five innings of work. His counterpart performed worse though, giving up five runs in 4.2 innings. Runs were scored on both sides early, but Arizona held a 5-3 lead after the fifth inning. They took the lead until the bottom of the ninth, when Rangers’ shortstop Corey Seager blasted a ball into the stands, scoring two runs, and tying the game after nine innings.
The tenth inning failed to prove fruitful for either side, pushing the game into an eleventh frame. The Diamondbacks were unable to score, allowing the Rangers to put the game away; then, up came outfielder Adolis Garcia, who had proved to be clutch in the series before. He saw a sinker in the bottom of the strike zone, and he sent it 373 feet into the right field stands. His walk-off homerun gave Texas a 1-0 series lead.
The second game could not have been more different than the first. The game remained scoreless through the first three innings, but was opened up in the top of the fourth. A Diamondbacks’ home run and an RBI single gave Arizona a 2-0 lead, as Texas had been unable to score. In the bottom of the fifth, the Rangers scored a single run but still trailed. Any hopes of a comeback were destroyed as Arizona would go on to score seven more runs before the conclusion, earning them a 9-1 victory.
After a blowout in game two, the third game proved to be much more interesting. Play moved to Arizona, where the Diamondbacks looked forward to the home field advantage. The stadium was packed with fans wearing shirts that read “snakes alive,” a motto that came to fruition during the playoffs. The first runs were scored in the third inning, as the Rangers posted three. An RBI single from infielder Marcus Semien broke the tie, giving Texas a 1-0 lead. Seager hit yet another home run, scoring Semien, and broke the game open at 3-0. The score remained stagnant until the later half of the eighth when Arizona put a run across the plate. No more runs were scored, and Texas took the game 3-1 and led the series 2-1.
Game four, also in Arizona, would be the highest-scoring game of the series. Runs were scored early, as Texas scored five in the second inning. The first was scored on a wild pitch, as the Diamondbacks’ catcher was unable to retrieve the ball. The next two were scored off of a triple hit by Semien, who was brought around on yet another Seager home run. In the third, Texas added five more to their score, giving them ten runs, to Arizona’s zero. The Diamondbacks scored one the following inning, but still trailed 10-1. Texas added another tally in the eighth but was matched by Arizona’s four runs in the same inning, changing the score to 11-5. Arizona tried their hardest, adding two in the ninth, but lost the game 11-7, faced with elimination if they lost again.
The Diamondbacks needed to win game five if they wanted any chance of becoming champions. They started Gallen yet again, and Texas placed Eovaldi on the bump. Both performed well, with not much more to be asked of them. The game was scoreless until the seventh inning, when the Rangers swatted a single into center field, scoring Seager. They added four more runs in the ninth, leaving the Diamondbacks with five runs to make up; Arizona was unable to score even one, as they were shutout 5-0.
This marked Texas’ first-ever World Series Championship, and likely not their last. The team proved to be talented, despite having several young players amongst a team of seasoned veterans. Their ability to perform in clutch spots pushed them to the top, where they can proudly display the title of “2023 Champions.”