The Weekly Rundown: 10/29/23 - 11/4/23
The Rangers are World Series champions for the first time in franchise history.
Good morning and Happy Sunday!
It’s officially the MLB offseason, which means these rundowns will look a little different over the next few months. They will include every notable free-agent signing, trade, hiring, you name it leading up to Opening Day. Some weeks will be overflowing with news. Others will be extremely light on content. Either way, you won’t miss a thing if you subscribe (free) to the newsletter, which is sent directly to your e-mail inbox every Sunday morning.
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Before we turn the page to free agency — you can check out my top 50 free agents here — we’ve got a World Series champion to crown. Let’s get into it…
Rangers Win First World Series Title
It isn’t often I nail a prediction, so let me just take a quick victory lap for picking the Rangers to beat the Diamondbacks in five games.
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Thanks! Here’s how it happened, starting with Game 3. For Games 1 and 2, go here.
Marcus Semien put the Rangers on the board first with an RBI single in the third inning off DBacks rookie Brandon Pfaadt. Corey Seager stepped up next and blasted a two-run homer down the right-field line.
That’s all the offense Texas would need as Arizona scored only one run — an RBI knock by Geraldo Perdomo in the eighth.
Despite the win, it wasn’t all positive news for the Rangers. Their postseason hero Adolis Garcia exited with an oblique injury and Max Scherzer was forced to end his start after three innings with a back issue.
Game 3 Result: Rangers 3, Diamondbacks 1 - Rangers lead series, 2-1
The Rangers removed Garcia and Scherzer from their World Series roster due to the injuries they suffered in Game 3. It didn’t matter. Texas simply picked up where it left off.
It ruined Arizona’s bullpen game and jumped out to a 10-0 lead with five runs in the second and third innings. The first Rangers run scored on a wild pitch. From there, the floodgates opened as Marcus Semien slapped a two-run triple down the left field line, Seager came through with another two-run bomb, Garcia’s replacement Travis Jankowski hit a two-run double, and Semien stayed hot with a three-run homer in the third.
The DBacks made a valiant comeback effort, scoring six runs in the final two innings. Lourdes Gurriel did his part with a homer and four RBIs. It just wasn’t enough to overcome the pitching staff’s putrid start.
Game 4 Result: Rangers 11, Diamondbacks 7 - Rangers lead series, 3-1
The Rangers returned to Globe Life Field with a chance to clinch their first-ever World Series title in front of their home crowd.
Game 5 was the polar opposite of Game 4, a pitcher’s duel between Nathan Eovaldi and Zac Gallen. Gallen took a no-hitter into the seventh, but Eovaldi kept the DBacks off the scoreboard through six innings of work.
Seager finally broke up Gallen’s no-no and rookie Evan Carter followed with a double. Mitch Garver knocked an RBI single up the middle to break the scoreless tie, and Gallen was removed from the game one batter later.
The Rangers added four insurance runs in the ninth inning. Jonah Heim smoked one up the middle that got by DBacks outfielder Alek Thomas, allowing two runs to score. Semien topped off his stellar stretch with a two-run homer. Josh Sborz took the mound in the bottom half of the frame and closed it out with a strikeout of Ketel Marte.
Game 5 Result: Rangers 5, Diamondbacks 0 - Rangers win series, 4-1
Seager Trolls Astros
After the Astros clinched the AL West, Alex Bregman said during the team’s celebration, “People were wondering what it was gonna be like if the ‘Stros didn’t win the division. I guess we’ll never know.”
The Rangers finished second behind the Astros despite their identical record due to a tiebreaker. However, they got their revenge by beating Houston in the ALCS and going on to win the World Series.
World Series MVP Corey Seager remembered Bregman’s comments and got the last laugh during Texas’ championship parade.
Quick Takeaways
Veteran reliever Will Smith became the first player in MLB history to win three straight World Series titles, doing so with the Braves, Astros, and now the Rangers. He’s a free agent this offseason, just sayin’.
Carlos Correa vs. Corey Seager was an actual debate during last offseason. Safe to say that one is settled.
Jordan Montgomery is about to get PAID in free agency. The 30-year-old southpaw posted a 3.20 ERA this season and was a crucial piece throughout the Rangers’ run.
Nathan Eovaldi deserves far more credit than he gets for being a big-game pitcher. Few have stepped up more in the postseason in recent years.
Rapid Fire
Nelson Cruz has called it a career after 19 MLB seasons. The journeyman slugger retires with 464 career home runs.
Veteran pitcher Ian Kennedy also announced his retirement after celebrating a World Series title with the Rangers. The 38-year-old ends his 17-year MLB career with a 4.16 ERA, 1,775 strikeouts, 104 wins, and 66 saves in 1,900 innings pitched with six different teams.
The Dodgers signed third baseman Max Muncy to a two-year, $24 million contract extension.
The Braves re-signed reliever Joe Jimenez to a three-year contract worth $26 million.
Clayton Kershaw, a free agent this offseason, underwent shoulder surgery and is hoping to return to the mound in the summer.
The Tigers acquired outfielder Mark Canha from the Brewers for minor-league right-hander Blake Holub.
The Rumor Mill
The Dodgers are believed to be the favorites to sign Shohei Ohtani, per The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal.
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