(Arlington) Corey Seager and Adolis Garcia hit early homers and Nathan Eovaldi struck out seven in seven innings to post another decisive victory for the Texas Rangers, this time 7-1 over the Baltimore Orioles to complete the sweep, Tuesday.
The Rangers, deprived of the American West Division title by virtue of a defeat against the Seattle Mariners on the last day of the regular season, have since won their five playoff games. They thus reach the American championship series for the first time since 2011.
“We’re just playing good baseball,” Seager said. I can’t say enough about what our pitchers were able to do in limiting some really good attacks, and we scored enough runs to win the games. »
The Orioles have won an AHL-high 101 games this season and have never been swept in a regular-season series. They have now lost eight straight in the playoffs.
“I’m very proud of our group,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said. They defied all odds. Nobody believed in us. The guys played hard for six months. We just haven’t played well these last three games, unfortunately. »
Seager, who opened the scoring with a solo homer in the first, broke Barry Bonds’ record in the second round with nine walks in three games.
The Orioles issued an intentional walk to Seager to load the bases in the second and Mitch Garver’s double then gave the Rangers a 3-0 lead.
A free pass in the fourth made Seager the first player to get nine in three section series games. That’s one more than Bonds, with the San Francisco Giants in 2003.
Garcia’s home run in the third added three runs to the score, making it 6-0. He launched on a shot from Dean Kremer, as the Israeli-American pitcher got his first career start in the playoffs.
Kremer was 13-5 with a 4.12 ERA in 32 starts this season.
“We have several players who have never played in the playoffs before,” Hyde said. So it hurts, and that’s okay. It’s okay to use it as fuel during the off-season. I think the guys are going to be hungry in training camp. »
Nathaniel Lowe also hit a solo home run, this time in the sixth.
“I saw a team that was very motivated,” explained Rangers manager Bruce Bochy, a three-time World Series champion with the Giants. On offense, everyone did something to contribute. »
Eovaldi won both games which allowed the Rangers to reach the next playoff round. This time, 76 of his 98 pitches were in the strike zone, yielding no walks. He only allowed one point.
It was the Rangers’ first playoff game at Globe Life Field, which opened in 2020 and was chosen as a neutral location for several playoff games due to the COVID-19 pandemic that same year.
The Los Angeles Dodgers spent the majority of October 2020 in this stadium, with Seager being named the NL Championship Series and World Series Most Valuable Player. A year later, the shortstop left for Texas with a 10-year, US$325 million contract in his pocket.