Corey Seager took a powerful swing and just barely connected, sending a grounder through an open area in the left side of the frame for his team's first hit in the seventh inning. Considering the heartbreak this club suffered 12 years ago in one of the most heartbreaking World Series finals of all time, the Texas Watchmen certainly deserved it.
Nathan Eovaldi pitched six gutsy innings and Mitch Garver broke a scoreless tie with a single in the seventh inning. That was enough for the Watchmen to win their first World Series championship. World Series in the 63-year history of their franchise by beating the Arizona Rattlers 5-0 in Game 5.
Los Vigilantes Shone On A Perfect Night
Marcus Semien connected for a home run in a four-run ninth inning and the Lookouts, who did not hit a hit over six innings against Zac Gallen, finished with an 11-0 record on the road this postseason.
Semien emphasized the importance of the groundwork, alluding to his dedication throughout his career to get to that moment. Despite Gallen's outstanding performance that night, the team managed to overcome the obstacles.
Corey's first hit triggered a positive reaction in the set. The pitchers' performance was outstanding. In his first season with Texas, manager Bruce Bochy won his fourth World Series title.
This accomplishment comes 13 years after his first championship in 2010 with the Giants, and added to the rings earned with San Francisco in 2012 and 2014.
One night after the Watchmen built a 10-run lead in the first three innings in Game 4, they sealed the third wild-card World Series in baseball history by edging Arizona in a high-voltage pitching duel.
Gallen kept it a no-hit game until the seventh inning before giving up a single to opposite field to Seager, whose weak roll found a hole.
Carter Finds Success
Watchers rookie Evan Carter, just 21, followed with a double. Garver then delivered the first run, shaking his fist as a hard grounder to center produced Seager's homer.
Garver batted 1-for-17 in the Series before his big hit. With the Watchmen clinging to that 1-0 lead, Josh Jung and Nathaniel Lowe hit singles off Paul Sewald to open the ninth inning.
Jung scored on Jonah Heim's single, and Lowe went all the way from first base when center fielder Alek Thomas let the ball get away from him, committing an error.
Two outs later, Semien's two-run home run left the score at 5-0. It was the 13th time Texas has scored at least three runs in an inning this postseason.
Meanwhile, on the mound, Eovaldi managed to get out of trouble all night long before Aroldis Chapman and Josh Sborz closed out the game, making the Watchmen the first team to win a World Series game without a hit or run until the sixth inning.
Sborz struck out four in two and one-third innings of relief, allowing just one hit, and earned his first save of the postseason. He threw a called third strike to Ketel Marte for the final out, and jubilant Texas players headed to the mound to celebrate.
THE TEXAS RANGERS ARE MLB CHAMPIONS.
They get the first #WorldSeries in their history.👏⚾️pic.twitter.com/o73fcOqKIQ
- Pasión Beisbol ⚾️ (@Pasionbaseball) November 2, 2023
The Way Up Wasn't Easy
Texas led the American League West Division for most of the year, but surrendered the divisional title on the final day of the regular season to the rival Houston Astros.
The Watchmen withstood an early injury that ended the season for new ace Jacob deGrom and another significant one in April for Seager.
However, players like Jordan Montgomery, Jose Leclerc and Travis Jankowski picked up the slack throughout the season for these resilient Watchmen, capping a quick and remarkable turnaround under general manager Chris Young.
A disheartening 1-0 loss in the final game of the regular season in Seattle dropped the Watchmen to the number five seed in the American League playoffs and sent them across the country to open the postseason in Tampa Bay.
The Vigilantes Make History
But after sweeping the Tampa Bay Rays and the American League East Division champion Baltimore Orioles, the two teams with the most wins in the American League, the Watchmen got their revenge on Houston, the 2022 World Series champion.
That led to the Watchmen's first World Series in 12 years. Once there, they became the first team to win the World Series without an error since the Orioles in 1966.
In the end, Texas had to overcome the young and surprising Rattlers, who won only 84 games during the regular season but beat the Milwaukee Brewers, Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies in an amazing postseason run that eventually fizzled.
With some help from his defense, the bespectacled Gallen plowed through his first 14 batters before giving up a walk to Lowe.
Eovaldi was not as sharp, but still tied for zeroes on the scoreboard despite giving up five walks, the most in a start since 2013.
Arizona had juicy opportunities to score in the first five innings, but could not score, and finished 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position.
