The Texas Rangers have won their first-ever World Series after defeating the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-0 in Game 5 of the Fall Classic on Wednesday to earn a 4-1 series victory.
Texas Rangers @Rangers
A moment 52 seasons in the making. #WentAndTookIt pic.twitter.com/UnBLCknUpw
Both teams were held scoreless through six innings, with Texas going without a hit during that span against D-backs starter Zac Gallen. Nathan Eovaldi bent but never broke as he routinely got out of tough jams to throw six shutout innings and ultimately earn the win.
However, Texas got on the board in the seventh after Rangers designated hitter Mitch Garver’s RBI single scored Corey Seager.
Texas Rangers @Rangers
Bats alive! #GoAndTakeIt pic.twitter.com/cGqK2dSJqI
Texas held onto that 1-0 lead into the ninth before breaking it open with four runs. Jonah Heim’s single to center field scored two after the ball got by outfielder Alek Thomas on an error.
Texas Rangers @Rangers
ADD ON! #GoAndTakeIt pic.twitter.com/YeafUkAN34
Marcus Semien later drove Heim home with a game-sealing two-run homer.
Texas Rangers @Rangers
SIMMY WITH A SWING OF A LIFETIME! pic.twitter.com/DJpPRimDBI
Josh Sborz shut the door in the ninth, and with that, the Rangers hoisted their first World Series trophy since entering Major League Baseball as the Washington Senators in 1961.
Texas didn’t even make the playoffs until 1996 and endured significant postseason heartbreak in 2011 after coming just one out away from defeating the St. Louis Cardinals for the World Series.
But the Rangers are on top of the baseball world now after playoff run that included sweeps of the Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles, a hard-fought seven-game ALCS win over the Houston Astros and an emphatic World Series victory over the upstart Diamondbacks in five. Fans are calling them a “team of destiny” following a fantastic postseason.
kevbanger @SirShowboat
Rangers were really the team of destiny. Salute to them man
Chris Milano @JetfanChris24
The Texas team of destiny Rangers
Michael Salerno @MikeNJD
Man, looks like the Rangers are a team of destiny. #WorldSeries
Bill Mynatt @bill_mynatt
D-Backs have had their chances so far tonight.
Thinking the Rangers are just a team of destiny.
Texas endured a tough road just to get to this point.
Their best hitter, Seager, missed 43 games largely due to thumb and hamstring injuries.
Their best pitcher, Jacob deGrom, started just six games before suffering a torn UCL in his right elbow that forced him to undergo Tommy John surgery.
Texas also started hot but was just three games over .500 after May. The Rangers had to fight just to make the playoffs but found themselves two-and-a-half games up with just four to go. Losing three-out-of-four in Seattle led to Texas losing its AL West lead by tiebreaker to Houston, meaning the Rangers had to get to the World Series the hard way through the wild card.
But Texas then cruised through the first two rounds and took down the defending World Series champions in Houston before winning its first AL pennant in 12 years.
In the World Series, the Rangers lost the hottest hitter in baseball, right fielder Adolis García, due to a strained oblique after Game 3. Star pitcher and midseason acquisition Max Scherzer was lost for the series as well due to back spasms that forced him to depart Game 3 after three innings.
Despite everything, Texas bore down and beat Arizona 11-7 in Game 4 before shutting the D-backs out in Game 5.
Simply put, this was a well-deserved World Series victory for a resilient team. The Rangers got great performances from Seager, the World Series MVP, and a host of others in the batting order, the starting rotation and the bullpen for a great team win.
The Athletic @TheAthletic
The Texas Rangers went a perfect 11-0 on the road this postseason en route to their first ring.
No MLB team has ever done that in history. pic.twitter.com/3wAT1nTBRh
Mark Cuban @mcuban
Way to go Rangers !!!!! Congrats ! What an amazing run !
Josh Lewin @joshlewinstuff
BALLGAME!!! So thrilled for Chris Young, the longtime staffers like John Blake, Rich Rice, Chuck Morgan and the rest… but most of all for those amazing @Rangers fans. Congrats 🎉
What a story!
Dirk Nowitzki @swish41
Wow. So well deserved!!!
World Series Champs!!!!!! @Rangers
Schlasser @UrinatingTree
Congratulations, Texas Rangers!
The Legacy of Failure is finally vanquished!
A World Series is finally yours after sixty-two years of existence and two locations!
It’s been a long road, but you’ve finally made it.
Well done!
Front Office Sports @FOS
Two years ago, the Texas Rangers lost 102 games.
Ownership completely skipped a traditional rebuild — and immediately spent a record $561 million on free agents.
Two seasons later, the Rangers just won their FIRST-EVER World Series 🏆 pic.twitter.com/WIdl5xph3i
Evan Grant @Evan_P_Grant
The Rangers are champions of the baseball world. My god. They did it.
Luka Doncic @luka7doncic
Champions!!!!! @Rangers 💯💯💯
sky @GonsolinRBW
Corey Seager broke the Dodgers’ drought in 2020.
He won the Rangers their first ever ring in 2023.
Seager is an all-time great player that is finally getting the recognition he’s deserved.
Rangers Muse @MuseRangers
325 Million well spent, forever immortalized in Rangers history, Congrats on WS MVP 5, we will love you forever #GoAndTakeIt pic.twitter.com/u67kbh7sMO
Craig Miller @junior_miller
I went to my first Rangers game in 1976, saw Toby Harrah hit a grand slam. 47 years later, they finally win the World Series! 10 year old me would be in tears, 57 year old me is in a state of shock. pic.twitter.com/pIISDcTZRf
Manager Bruce Bochy also deserves credit after winning his fourth World Series title following three victories in San Francisco (2010, 2012, 2014). In addition, reliever Will Smith became the first-ever player to win World Series in three straight years with three different teams (Atlanta Braves, Astros, Rangers).
And with that, the 2023 baseball season is over. Congratulations are in order for a great Rangers team well-positioned to be perennial playoff contenders for the foreseeable future. Twenty-nine other teams now find themselves chasing Texas, and they’ll get a chance to get to work in that regard soon enough as hot stove season gets going in earnest.
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