The Texas Rangers have won the World Series for the first time in franchise history after pitcher Nathan Eovaldi produced six scoreless innings and the Arizona Diamondbacks collapsed late on in Game 5.
The Rangers headed to Chase Field with a 3-1 lead on Wednesday night, and an RBI single from Mitch Garver in the top of the seventh put them ahead, after Eovaldi’s impressive display on the mound.
Despite a raucous home crowd, the Diamondbacks could not level things up, and the team collapsed in the top of the ninth to allow the Rangers three straight hits, which resulted in two more runs, to put them in clear air.
Marcus Semien then silenced the arena with a two-run home run minutes later – his second of the postseason – to ensure it was a dominant series-sealing victory for the Rangers.
The 5-0 triumph on Wednesday night saw the Rangers reign victorious in the World Series for the first time in their 63-year franchise history, and at their third time of asking after falling short in 2010 and 2011.
Texas Rangers players celebrate wildly after sealing the first World Series trophy in franchise history on Wednesday night
Despite the game being scoreless through six innings, the Rangers eventually sealed a dominant 5-0 win at Chase Field
Marcus Semien roars with delight after hitting a two-run home run to make the score 5-0 in the top of the ninth inning
The players mob pitcher Josh Sborz after he got the final hitter out in the bottom of the ninth inning in Arizona
Semien (near) and Corey Seager – two of the Rangers’ most important players – hug after sealing the 4-1 series win
In his first season with Texas, manager Bruce Bochy won his fourth title 13 years to the day after his first, which came in 2010 when the Giants beat the Rangers. He also won it all with San Francisco in 2012 and 2014.
‘I was sitting in a recliner there in Nashville, just enjoying myself,’ said the 68-year-old Bochy, who came out of retirement to take over the Rangers.
One night after Texas took a 10-run lead by the third in a Game 4 snoozer, it finished baseball’s third all-wild card Series by outlasting the Diamondbacks in a white-knuckle pitchers’ duel, piling on four runs in the ninth for good measure.
Gallen took a no-hitter into the seventh before giving up an opposite-field single to World Series MVP Corey Seager, whose weak grounder found a hole. Rangers rookie Evan Carter – all of 21 years old – followed with a double into the right-center gap. Garver then delivered the first run, pumping his fist as a hard-hit grounder got through the middle of the infield to score Seager and make it 1-0.
Garver was 1 for 17 at the plate in the World Series before his huge hit.
‘Everything I’ve ever worked for is for this moment,’ Semien said. ‘Gallen was unbelievable tonight. But we came through. Once Corey got the first hit, everybody kind of woke up. Pitching was unbelievable.’
The Rangers tacked on four more runs in the ninth to break open the game. Semien´s two-run homer off Paul Sewald made it 5-0. The outburst was typical of the Texas offense, which scored at least three runs in an inning 13 times this postseason.
Josh Sborz, who closed the game and sealed the World Series victory, kisses his girlfriend on the field during the celebrations
The entire Texas Rangers roster celebrate with the World Series trophy on the Diamondbacks’ Chase Field in Arizona
In the dressing room moments later, the beer was flowing as the players enjoyed the traditional celebrations after the win
Bruce Bochy holds up the trophy after sealing his fourth World Series – and first away from the San Francisco Giants
The players were soaked with beer after donning their ‘World Series Champions’ t-shirts and goggles in the locker room
Eovaldi pitched out of trouble all night before Aroldis Chapman and Josh Sborz finished it.
‘I kind of joked around: I don´t know how many rabbits I have in my hat,’ said Eovaldi, who improved to 5-0 this postseason. ‘I didn´t really do a great job tonight in attacking the zone. But our defense, incredible again.’
Sborz struck out four in 2 1/3 innings of one-hit ball for his first save this postseason. He threw a called third strike past Ketel Marte to end it.
It’s the first title for the Rangers, whose history dates back to 1961 when they were the expansion Washington Senators. They moved to Texas for the 1972 season and came agonizingly close to a World Series championship in 2011, needing just one strike on two occasions before eventually falling to the St. Louis Cardinals.
Now, after five stadiums, roughly two dozen managers and 10,033 games, the Rangers are champions.
‘We go into hostile territory everywhere we went,’ Sborz said. ‘And we just stayed calm, did our job and played the way the way we played all year.’
The Texas Rangers’ billionaire owner Ray Davis (left) is handed the trophy by MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred
Mitch Garver celebrates at first base after his hit, which eventually led to the first run in Game 5 of the World Series
Nathan Eovaldi threw six scoreless innings for the Texas Rangers, to help them to a 5-0 win in Game 5 vs the Diamondbacks
Garver hits the all-important single in the seventh inning, which led the Rangers to victory – and a first ever World Series
Seager (bottom) celebrates with teammates after scoring a run in the seventh inning at Chase Field in Phoenix
It wasn´t easy. Texas led the AL West for a big chunk of the season, but coughed up the division title on the final day of the regular season to rival Houston. The Rangers also weathered injuries to key pieces, particularly ace pitcher Jacob deGrom.
That 1-0 loss in the regular-season finale at Seattle left the Rangers with the No. 5 seed in the AL playoffs and it sent them across the country to open the playoffs at Tampa Bay, part of two-week trip that took them to four cities – two on each coast. Then Texas got its revenge against Houston, winning a hard-fought series in seven games that brought them to the World Series.
‘We´ve just got a group of winners,’ first baseman Nathaniel Lowe said. ‘When the bus driver´s driving slow, we tell him, `Hey man, you know you´re driving a group of winners,’ so we believed it through and through. Maybe we struggled at home, but we got it done on the road, and we´ve got a special group.’
Finally, the Rangers had to get past the Diamondbacks, who won just 84 games during the regular season but beat the Brewers, Dodgers and Phillies in a remarkable postseason run that finally fizzled.
‘I´m sorry I didn´t do my job to get us there,’ manager Torey Lovullo said, pausing as his voice cracked with emotion. ‘But I will. We all will.’
NBA superstar Kevin Durant turned heads in the crowd as he turned up to watch Game 5 of the World Series on Wednesday
It was a full house and a raucous crowd in Arizona but the Diamondbacks could not keep the World Series alive in Game 5
Eovaldi was very impressive on the mound as he helped his team to a maiden World Series triumph, in their third attempt
Former Major League Baseball player Ken Griffey Jr. continues his second career as a photographer at the World Series game
Chase Field was packed under the floodlights on Wednesday, but the D’Backs fell short of pulling a game back in the series
Gallen was one of the best pitchers in the majors this season, starting for the National League in the All-Star Game. But the 28-year-old hadn´t been as sharp in the playoffs, with a 2-2 record and 5.27 ERA over five starts.
That changed on Wednesday. With some help from his defense, the bespectacled righty was at his best, mowing down the first 14 hitters he faced before walking Lowe.
Eovaldi wasn´t quite as sharp, but still matched Gallen´s zeros on the scoreboard despite walking five, his most in an outing since 2013.
The Diamondbacks had some juicy opportunities to score in the first five innings, but couldn´t convert, going 0 for 9 with runners in scoring position.
Eovaldi made it through six, giving up four hits and striking out five on 97 pitches.
‘He was a traffic cop tonight,’ Rangers pitching coach Mike Maddux said.
Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
