PHOENIX — The Texas Rangers looked at one another in disbelief, hugged, mobbed one another, and on Wednesday night, it finally happened.
The Rangers, 63 years after the franchise was born, are finally World Series champions.
The Rangers knocked off the Arizona Diamondbacks, 5-0, continuing their glorious road show, winning the World Series in Game 5 at Chase Field. Texas finished the postseason 11-0 away from Globe Life Field.
It was 13 years ago to the night that San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy knocked off the Rangers to win the World Series title.
Now, he returned the favor for the Rangers, winning his fourth World Series ring, and becoming only the third manager in history to win World Series titles in each league.
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The torture is over, the Rangers are champs.
While Diamondbacks ace Zac Gallen spent the first six innings Friday night leaving visions of Don Larsen dancing in everyone’s minds, Rangers ace Nathan Eovaldi showed why he’s one of the best clutch pitchers in today’s game.
Eovaldi, pitching in and out of danger the entire night, wound up pitching six shutout innings and tied the postseason record by winning five starts, going 5-0 with a 2.98 ERA in six starts.
It wasn’t until the Diamondbacks' nemesis, Corey Seager, hit a dribbler down third base that Gallen gave up his first hit. Rookie Evan Carter followed with a double to right-center, his ninth of the postseason, the most in history.
Mitch Garver made Gallen pay with a sharp single up the middle for a 1-0 lead. Gallen stayed in for one more batter, striking out Josh Jung, and strolled off the mound with the sellout crowd giving him a standing ovation.
D-backs reliever Kevin Ginkel came in and prevented any further damage, but it was too late, with the Rangers blowing the game open with a four-run outburst in the ninth inning against closer Paul Sewald.
The Diamondbacks will spend the whole winter kicking themselves, knowing they should have at least sent this series to a sixth game in Texas.
They spent the first half of the game putting all kinds of pressure on the Rangers, landing punch after punch, but failing to deliver a knockout blow. They put the leadoff hitter on base each of the first three innings, and had two runners on base in two of the first three innings.
And came away empty-handed each and every time time.
Eleven times, they came to the plate with runners in the scoring position in the first five innings.
Nine times, they made an out. Twice, they walked.
And once, they bunted. That one by their No. 3 hitter, Gabriel Moreno, the first of his career.
It was the first time a No. 3 hitter had a sacrifice bunt in a World Series game since Minnesota Twins Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett in Game 5 of the 1991 World Series.
Meanwhile, Gallen, the former University of North Carolina pitcher who was wearing custom Jordan 9 cleats, kept flirting with perfection. Gallen, who has already thrown 59 ⅔ innings more than his career-high, was pitching the game of his life.
He needed just 35 pitches to retire the first 12 batters of the game, with only two balls even hit to the outfield.
He retired Mitch Garver and Josh Jung on long fly balls to deep left field in the firth, until Nate Lowe drew a five-pitch walk, spoiling the perfect game. No sweat. He struck out Jonah Heim, and still had a no-hitter intact entering the seventh inning when Seager came back to haunt them again.
The D-backs thought they got rid of Seager, once and for all, when he left the Los Angeles two years ago as a $325 million free agent, hoping he couldn’t hurt them again.
“I actually sent Seager a limousine to take him to the airport and bring him to Texas when I heard he was going," Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “I wanted him out of the NL West so bad."
The Rangers shortstop becomes the fourth player to win multiple World Series MVP awards, joining Hall of Famers Sandy Koufax, Bob Gibson and Reggie Jackson. Seager hit three homers – including a game-tying shot in the ninth inning of Game 3 – and had six RBI in the five-game series.
– Bob Nightengale
Here's how Game 5 unfolded:
PHOENIX - One moment, the Texas Rangers were on the wrong end of a no-hit bid. Three batters later, they were nine outs from their first World Series championship in franchise history.
The Rangers finally solved Zac Gallen - or perhaps Gallen hit the wall - in the top of the seventh, when Corey Seager, Evan Carter and Mitch Garver all peppered him with base hits, Garver driving in the first run of Game 5 with a single to center. Yet the Diamondbacks did well to avoid further damage and stay within reach.
Gallen struck out Josh Jung with runners at the corners, then yielded to reliever Kevin Ginkel. With one out and the infield in, reliever Kevin Ginkel induced a grounder to first from Nathaniel Lowe and Evan Carter, running on contact, was out in a rundown. Ginkel then got Jonah Heim on a foul pop-up, keeping it a 1-0 game.
Nathan Eovaldi, meanwhile, gutted through six scoreless innings, surviving four walks and five hits thanks to a Diamondbacks offense that went hitless in nine at-bats with runners in scoring position and stranded nine while he was in the game.
Aroldis Chapman and Josh Sborz combined for a scoreless seventh inning of relief.
Six outs away.
– Gabe Lacques
PHOENIX – Zac Gallen isn't just keeping the Arizona Diamondbacks alive in this World Series. He's also entering the outskirts of history.
Gallen has pitched six no-hit innings in Game 5 of the World Series, a must-win for Arizona, which trails the series 3-1. Unfortunately for the Diamondbacks, Gallen has received no support from his hitters, who are 0 for 9 with runners in scoring position and have stranded nine, and the game remains a scoreless tie.
Rangers starter Nathan Eovaldi has struggled, walking four through five innings, but has made enough decent pitches when he's needed. Two walks and a Christian Walker single loaded the bases with two outs in the fifth, but Lourdes Gurriel Jr. swung at the first pitch and grounded to short, ending the threat. Eovaldi has thrown 85 pitches entering the sixth inning.
Meanwhile, the Rangers have had no answer for Gallen's big knuckle curve, whiffing on the pitch five times in 13 swings.
– Gabe Lacques
PHOENIX - Zac Gallen has been efficient, perfect. Nathan Eovaldi has been erratic, suboptimal.
And the Arizona Diamondbacks may rue failing to take advantage of the Texas Rangers pitcher's early struggles.
World Series Game 5 remained a scoreless tie through three innings Wednesday night at Chase Field, despite Eovaldi walking three and giving up two hits.
Tommy Pham, who had eight hits in 16 at-bats entering Game 5, grounded out twice with two runners on, short-circuiting rallies in the first and third innings. Meanwhile, Gallen did not allow a baserunner through three innings and threw just 27 pitches, a key development for a Diamondbacks club trailing 3-1 in this Series and with a beleaguered bullpen.
– Gabe Lacques
Texas Rangers
RHP Nathan Eovaldi
Arizona Diamondbacks
RHP Zac Gallen
Here's how tonight's game will play out, according to USA TODAY Sports' annual Sim Series played usingDynasty League Baseball:
The Texas Rangers' big bats pounded Arizona Diamondbacks ace Zac Gallen for five runs in the first inning on the way to a clinching 7-4 victory in USA TODAY Sports' annual Simulated World Series.
Surprise star Travis Jankowski (6-for-10, 1.492 OPS in the series) drove in a run with an RBI single and Mitch Garver followed with a two-run double as the Rangers knocked Gallen out of the game after recording only two outs.
However, the scrappy D-backs wouldn't quit. Rangers starter Nathan Eovaldi escaped a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the fourth inning by getting Ketel Marte to ground into a force play to preserve a three-run lead.
The game's biggest moment came in the bottom of the eighth when Arizona cut the lead to 7-4 and had the bases loaded with no outs. However Rangers reliever Dane Dunning struck out Evan Longoria and Geraldo Perdomo to bring rookie sensation Corbin Carroll to the plate with the tying runs on base.
Texas turned to southpaw Aroldis Chapman to face Carroll, and the decision paid off with an inning-ending ground out to first. Jose Leclerc finished up with a scoreless ninth to secure the save and the Sim Series title. Corey Seager (.300, 3 HR, 7 RS, 1.212 OPS) was named the Series MVP.
What to watch in (the real) Game 5:
– Eovaldi coming up aces: Eovaldi won his second game of the Sim Series, allowing three earned runs over 5 ⅔ innings. However, his success this season against left-handed batters allowed him to wiggle out of the fourth inning against Arizona's two most dangerous hitters, the switch-hitting Marte and lefty-swinging Carroll. During the regular season, Eovaldi allowed just a .201/.255/.324 slash line to left-handed batters – 183 OPS points better than his numbers vs. righties.
– Roll the dice with Aroldis: Chapman also had reverse splits during the regular season, but he was the best available matchup for Carroll with the game on the line. The problem the Rangers could have with relying on Chapman in that critical spot is his .408 on-base percentage against lefties this season. If he doesn't get that final out, he has to remain in the game to face right-handed mashers Gabriel Moreno, Christian Walker and Tommy Pham.
– Steve Gardner
The Texas Rangers are one of six MLB franchises to have never won a World Series championhip.
Here are all the teams to have never won a World Series:
As television ratings are announced for the 2023 World Series, the news continues to get worse for MLB.
Game 2 of this year's Fall Classic between the Arizona Diamondbacks and Texas Rangers was the lowest-watched World Series game of all time with 8.15 million people tuning in, according to Nielsen data collected by Sports TV Ratings. Two nights later, Game 3 set a new record low of fewer than 8.13 million people.
The low ratings of the MLB's 2023 championship event through three games have it set up to be the least-viewed World Series of all time.
– Jack McKessy
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