Rangers Secure ALCS Berth with a Clean Sweep of 101-Win Orioles

Dallas, Texas — After early home runs from Corey Seager and Adolis García, Nathan Eovaldi struck out seven in seven innings during another series-clinching start, and the Texas Rangers defeated the Baltimore Orioles 7-1 in Game 3 of the AL Division Series on Tuesday night.

The Rangers have won all five of their postseason games since losing to Seattle on the final day of the regular season, which sent them to the wild card position rather than the AL West title. It is their first trip to the American League Championship Series since 2011.

Seager stated, "We've just been playing good ball." "Our pitching staff has been able to shut down some really good offenses and score enough runs to win some games—I can't say enough about that."

Despite having an AL-high 101 victories and never losing a series in the regular season, the unexpected AL East champions are out of contention following an unfortunate sweep. Over the last ten seasons, the Orioles have dropped eight straight postseason games.

Extremely pleased with our team. They triumphed above all odds. Manager Brandon Hyde of Baltimore stated, "Nobody gave us a chance." "For six months, these guys played their asses off. Unfortunately, we just didn't play well for the final three.

In the first inning, Seager hit a 445-foot drive into the right-field seats. In the second, Orioles right-hander Dean Kremer, an Israeli-American pitcher making his first postseason start, was chased by García's three-run home run, which the All-Star slugger admired while taking a few slow steps out of the batter's box. García's home run made it 6-0.

Globe Life Field, which was brand-new in 2020 when it played host to much of MLB's neutral postseason during the COVID-19 pandemic, hosted its first Rangers playoff game.

That October was mostly spent with the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Seager was the MVP of the NLCS and the World Series. The shortstop moved to Texas a year later on a $325 million, ten-year contract, and he now shares the same locker as he did during that highly unusual postseason with few spectators.

When Seager struck in his first at-bat during his first home playoff game with the Rangers, the record sellout crowd of 40,861 went into a frenzy. Here in 2020, he drove in seven runs for the Dodgers.

Seager stated, "We've just been playing good ball." "Our pitching staff has been able to shut down some really good offenses and score enough runs to win some games—I can't say enough about that."

Globe Life Field, which was brand-new in 2020 when it played host to much of MLB's neutral postseason during the COVID-19 pandemic, hosted its first Rangers playoff game.

Semien says the Rangers' deep postseason run is due in large part to their depth.

Texas's Nathaniel Lowe also scored a solo home run in the sixth inning. Lowe had fouled off nine two-strike pitches before leading off the Rangers' five-run second inning with a lineout to left on the 15th pitch of the at-bat.

The three-time World Series champion Rangers manager Bruce Bochy, who is currently leading San Francisco to its first ALCS, remarked of the team, "I saw a really motivated team." "Everyone was contributing in some way to the offense."

In this year's All-Star Game, Seager is one of five Texas hitters who started for the AL team. Bochy, who was recruited by Rangers general manager Chris Young, a former pitcher in San Diego, last offseason, has quite the lineup.

Eovaldi, who was an All-Star in his rookie campaign with the Rangers, has triumphed in both of his playoff series deciders. The right-hander has made two of his longest and best starts since making his comeback in September, following a seven-week hiatus due to a right forearm issue.

Eovaldi allowed just one run while striking out 76 batter on 98 pitches without walking a batter. After the seventh inning, he was escorted off the mound by teammates who were chanting his name, and he was forced out of the dugout to give a cap tip to the spectators. Last Wednesday, he also prevailed in Tampa Bay in the Wild Card Series clincher.

"PLAYOFF hurler," Hyde said.

José Leclerc recorded the final four outs, the first coming in the eighth with the bases loaded and a groundout forced by pinch hitter Aaron Hicks, who had hit a three-run home run off him in the ninth inning of Game 2.

Hard-throwing Aroldis Chapman, who gave up a single and then two walks with two outs, was replaced by Leclerc. Leclerc struck out Jordan Westburg to complete the game with a spotless ninth inning, igniting joyous fireworks inside the ballpark.

Kremer pitched the fewest innings of the season—1 and a third. The 27-year-old, who usually wears a Star of David necklace, was thinking of her extended family in Israel, where a war has been declared in response to a terrorist group's murderous incursion. His mom was present at the match.

In 32 regular-season starts, including the two games that sealed Baltimore's playoff berth on September 17 and the team's 100th victory to win the AL East 11 days later, Kremer was 13-5 with a 4.12 ERA.

Many of our players had never attended a postseason game before. It's okay to hurt, even though this hurts. Having this kind of fuel for your fire during the off-season is OK. We'll need some time to move on from this and move on. However, I believe that throughout spring training, our guys will come in hunting and hungry, Hyde added.

"We now possess experience. Heads up, this team, moving forward. It's going to be an excellent club.

NO COST PASS O'S

The Orioles decided to intentionally walk Seager in the second inning with runners at second and third and two outs. After hitting a two-run double and a home run to make it 6-0, Mitch Garver—who had hit a grand slam in Game 2—also reached base.

In the fourth inning, Seager earned another walk, becoming the first player in a three-game postseason run to have nine walks. That is one more than Barry Bonds had in the 2003 San Francisco-Florida four-game NLDS setback.

In Game 2 against Baltimore, Seager took a five-game walk, becoming the first player in postseason history to do so.