Corey Seager took a mighty hack and barely connected, sending a dribbler through an open area on the left side of the infield for his team's first hit in the seventh inning on the Texas Rangers' way to their first World Series title. The Rangers shortstop and World Series MVP provided plenty of power throughout a stellar October run. But it was a little good fortune that finally sparked the offense and gave the Rangers the win, the AP reports. Considering the heartache the team went through 12 years ago in one of the all-time Fall Classic gut punches, Texas was certainly due.
Nathan Eovaldi pitched six gritty innings, Mitch Garver broke a scoreless tie with an RBI single in the seventh and the Rangers won the first championship in their 63-season franchise history by beating the Arizona 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) 5-0 in Game 5 on Wednesday night. Marcus Semien homered in a four-run ninth and the Rangers, held hitless for six innings by Zac Gallen, finished a record 11-0 on the road this postseason after capping the Fall Classic with three straight wins in the desert.
The win helped exorcise some unpleasant memories for Texas fans, who watched as their team came agonizingly close to a title in 2011, needing just one strike on two occasions before losing to the St. Louis Cardinals. 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. Now, after five stadiums, roughly two dozen managers and 10,033 games, the Rangers are champions. Five major league franchises remain without a World Series championship: Colorado, Milwaukee, San Diego, Seattle, and Tampa Bay. The Diamondbacks won their only title in 2001.
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