November 1, 2023: Texas Rangers win franchise’s first World Series title

One more strike.

On its own, one more strike is nothing abnormal. But one more strike haunted the Texas Rangers.

Texas came that close to winning the 2011 World Series.1 Twice. Twelve years after the St. Louis Cardinals won the title that got away, Rangers fans were hoping Game Five of the 2023 World Series, played in Phoenix against the Arizona Diamondbacks, would yield their franchise’s first championship in 63 years of existence.

The matchup was hardly foretold, either before or during the season. The 2022 Diamondbacks lost 88 games; the 2022 Rangers lost 94. Both reached the 2023 postseason as wild-card teams, with 84 and 90 wins, respectively.

And yet, both teams swept the first two rounds of the playoffs, won hard-fought seven-game League Championship Series, and made shock appearances in the Fall Classic as a result. After splitting the first two games in Arlington, back-to-back wins in Phoenix returned the Rangers to a spot they had not been in since 2011: on the doorstep of a championship.

For the Rangers faithful, two key factors going into Game Five tilted in their favor. First, the Rangers were on the road. No postseason team was better on the road than these Rangers, who had compiled a 10-0 record away from Globe Life Field.2

And second, Nathan Eovaldi was the starter. The man who started Texas’ series-clinching games in the first two rounds and a do-or-die Game Six in the ALCS, and a starter whose teams were 10-1 in career postseason games he started.3

The Diamondbacks started their ace, Zac Gallen. Gallen had outperformed Eovaldi in Game One – five innings and three earned runs for Gallen, 4⅔ innings and five earned runs for Eovaldi – but the Rangers won the game in extra innings.

Gallen retired the side in the first. Eovaldi faced trouble early, as leadoff hitter Corbin Carroll – soon to be named NL Rookie of the Year – walked and stole second base. A Ketel Marte groundout advanced Carroll to third, but the Diamondbacks were unable to score.

The second inning was similar: a 1-2-3 inning for Gallen, a leadoff baserunner for Arizona – this time courtesy of a Lourdes Gurriel Jr single. This time, he was stranded at second.

Gallen again retired the side in the third inning, and again Eovaldi allowed a leadoff baserunner in return, with Carroll getting a single. Marte walked, and Gabriel Moreno’s sacrifice put both men in scoring position. Again, Eovaldi escaped the jam without allowing any runs.

Gallen continued to be unhittable. After another perfect inning, he had retired all 12 batters he faced on just 35 pitches, the fewest in a World Series game in over two decades.4

The Diamondbacks’ half of the fourth saw Eovaldi retire the first two batters he faced. A two-out double from Evan Longoria – in his final MLB game – marked the fourth time in four innings that the Diamondbacks had a runner reach second base.5 Still, the inning ended with a 0-0 score.

After two more outs in the top of the fifth, the Rangers finally had a baserunner on a walk from Nathaniel Lowe. A Jonah Heim strikeout followed, leaving the Rangers hitless through five.

Arizona threatened to score once again in the fifth. A one-out walk from Marte and a two-out single from Christian Walker saw another Diamondback reach third. Walker then stole second to put two in scoring position. Eovaldi induced a groundout from Gurriel Jr. to keep the game scoreless.

Gallen remained sharp, pitching another 1-2-3 inning in the sixth. For the second time in as many years, a team had pitched at least six no-hit innings in a World Series game. (Christian Javier and three Houston Astros relievers combined for a no-hitter in Game Four of the 2022 World Series.6) Eovaldi matched Gallen’s performance for his first clean inning of the night.

Gallen returned to the mound for the seventh, but his no-hit bid ended on a leadoff single from Corey Seager. Evan Carter – the 21-year-old left fielder, two months removed from playing for Double-A Frisco – followed with a double. It was his ninth double of the postseason, also a new MLB record.7 Mitch Garver followed with a single, driving in Seager. In just eight pitches, the Rangers went from zero hits to a 1-0 lead.

Gallen struck out Josh Jung before manager Torey Lovullo summoned reliever Kevin Ginkel, who induced two outs to prevent further scoring.

The Rangers turned to their bullpen to start the bottom of the seventh, with deadline acquisition Aroldis Chapman pitching. Two outs and a walk later, manager Bruce Bochy replaced Chapman with righty Josh Sborz. Walker lined out to end the seventh.

After a Leody Taveras groundout and Travis Jankowski walk, the next Rangers batter made more MLB history by merely showing up. Marcus Semien stepped to the plate for the 834th time in 2023. The total surpassed Lenny Dykstra of the 1993 Philadelphia Phillies for the most plate appearances in a single season, including the playoffs.8 Semien marked the occasion with a single. Seager then walked to load the bases. Carter struck out and Garver grounded out, stranding all three runners.

Sborz recorded two outs to start the bottom of the eighth before Alek Thomas singled. Pavin Smith, hitting for Longoria, struck out, and the Rangers were three outs away.

Paul Sewald came in to pitch in the ninth for Arizona. He had not pitched in the World Series since blowing a save in Game One. Game Five turned out no better for him.

The Rangers greeted Sewald with three straight singles to take a 3-0 lead. After Sewald struck out Taveras and induced a groundout from Jankowski, Semien took his 835th plate appearance. This one ended with a two-run home run to left. While Sewald limited the damage from there, Texas took a 5-0 lead into the bottom of the ninth.

Sborz started the half inning by striking out Geraldo Perdomo. Carroll popped out to the catcher for two outs. Sborz then worked Marte into a 2-and-2 count.

The Rangers needed one more strike.

His next pitch was a curveball that caught the corner of the strike zone. Home plate umpire Brian Knight called one more strike.

After 63 years as a franchise, and 52 years calling Arlington, Texas home, the Rangers were World Series champions.9

Eovaldi earned the win, improving to 5-0 in the postseason – the first pitcher to win five postseason games in one run.10 Chapman recorded his sixth hold of the postseason, while Sborz was credited with his first career postseason save. Despite his six no-hit innings, Gallen was charged with the loss for Arizona, ending his postseason with a 2-3 record.

The celebrations began: Seager’s .286/.375/.762 World Series triple slash saw him become the fourth man to win multiple World Series MVPs.11 Bochy became the sixth manager to win four World Series, following his 2010, 2012, and 2014 championships with the San Francisco Giants.12

And most important for the estimated 500,000 Rangers fans who traveled to Arlington for the parade two days later, Texas got one more strike.13

Author’s Note

I was working in the player development department for these Rangers, my first season working in MLB. I got to watch Evan Carter as a Frisco Roughrider and tracked several rookie Rangers’ journeys to Arlington. While the team was in Phoenix, I watched this game on the Globe Life Field jumbotron, surrounded by fellow employees and over 20,000 fans. I may have grown up rooting for other teams, but I became a Rangers fan that year, and the euphoria of winning the World Series will forever be a core memory. The long hours, ups and downs, triumph and hardships all crashed like waves when working for a team like these Rangers.

In the end, seeing Arlington get the season’s final strike, raising a mock Commissioner’s Trophy in the office after the game, seeing my friends and my team part of a World Series parade – those experiences made everything all worth it.

Acknowledgments

This article was fact-checked by Ray Danner and copy-edited by Keith Thursby.

Photo credit: Corey Seager, Trading Card Database.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com and Retrosheet.org for information on the history of the Texas Rangers and Arizona Diamondbacks along with other pertinent material and the box score and play-by-play.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/ARI/ARI202311010.shtml

https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/2023/B11010ARI2023.htm

Notes

1 Tim Colishaw, “Crushed,” The Dallas Morning News, October 28, 2011: C01.

2 Stephen J. Nesbitt, “Rangers-Diamondbacks World Series Game 5 Preview: Matchups, Odds, X-factor, Analysis,” The Athletic, November 1, 2023, https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5019264/2023/11/01/rangers-diamondbacks-world-series-game-5-preview/.

3 Nesbitt.

4 Jesús Cano, “Gallen Saves Best for Last with No-Hit Bid in Game 5,” MLB.com, November 2, 2023, https://www.mlb.com/news/zac-gallen-game-5-world-series-start?msockid=376576fb139b678a33e363f1129c66d4.

5 Longoria officially retired in 2025, following a one-day contract with the Tampa Bay Rays. This double would be his final MLB hit.

6 Ben Walker, “Javier, Astros Pitch 2nd No-Hitter in World Series History,” apnews.com, November 3, 2022, https://apnews.com/article/world-series-no-hitter-astros-javier-phillies-larsen-40084257452379204cf4e333046dfc07/.

7 Kelly Dearmore, “Not a Dream: The Wildest Numbers Behind the Texas Rangers Historic World Series Win,” Dallas Observer, November 2, 2023, 1.

8 Sam Connon, “Marcus Semien Breaks Single-Season Plate Appearance Record Amid Texas Rangers Victory,” Sports Illustrated, November 2, 2023, https://www.si.com/fannation/mlb/fastball/history/second-baseman-marcus-semien-breaks-single-season-plate-appearance-record-amid-texas-rangers-world-series-victory.

9 The franchise began as the Washington Senators in 1961 before moving to Arlington ahead of the 1972 season.

10 Lawrence Dow, “Rangers Became Road Warriors En Route to Their First Title”, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, November 3, 2023: B3.

11 Lawrence Dow, “Rangers Shortstop Corey Seager Wins World Series MVP,” Fort Worth Star-Telegram, November 3, 2023: B3. Seager’s first World Series MVP came with the 2020 Los Angeles Dodgers.

12 David Brandt, “Rangers Clinch First World Series Title”, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, November 3, 2023: B4.

13 Matt Leclercq, “Estimated 500,000 Fans Celebrate World Series Champion Rangers”, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, November 4, 2023: A1.