ESPN November 1, 2023, 11:10 PM ET3 Minute Read
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
The wait is over. The Texas Rangers are your World Series champions.
They clinched the first title in franchise history with a 5-0 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks in Game 5 on Wednesday night. Texas also ends its postseason series with a record of 11-0 on the road.
Arizona appeared to be the team to prevail through the first five innings, with runners stranded on base in each inning – but the Rangers were the first to break through, getting their first hits of the game in the seventh inning and then the first Run scored.
We’ve got all the action from the Fall Classic victory contest, from live updates and in-game analysis to post-final insights and more.
Important links: Complete playoff schedule and results
Takeaways
Texas: The Rangers spent most of October praising Nathan Eovaldi’s big-play abilities. And on the first night in November, when Zac Gallen dominated the Rangers’ menacing lineup through the first six innings, Eovaldi came on as big as ever, continually fighting his way out of trouble to give his offense a chance to break through late. And it did. The Rangers — a team that lost 102 games in 2021, then spent heavily in free agency and lured manager Bruce Bochy out of retirement — are World Series champions for the first time in their franchise’s 62-year history. They achieved that goal by going 11-0 on the road this postseason. They did it by continually overcoming adversity. And they did it by embodying the toughness that Eovaldi so often displays. –Alden Gonzalez
Arizona: The D-Backs fought hard but were ultimately beaten by a better team. Game 5 will be remembered for Zac Gallen’s six hitless innings, but also for the D-backs’ inability to get just one base knock in a big situation. There were so many chances, but none of it showed on the scoreboard as they left eleven runners on the board. It must be so frustrating to end the season. But what a season it was. Almost an afterthought in the mighty National League West, the D-Backs survived three rounds of the postseason and captured the World Series for the first time since 2001. They did it with three starting pitchers, including a rookie, and a young roster that made it well into the postseason. With 23-year-olds like Corbin Carroll and Gabriel Moreno, this doesn’t have to be a one-off situation. Most of the roster is under team control next year, with only key veterans Tommy Pham and Evan Longoria set to hit free agency. The ending was bad — Arizona lost three straight at home — but the entire season wasn’t. –Jesse Rogers
A big number: 51. That’s how many seasons the Texas Rangers played in Arlington without winning a World Series. No American League fan base has endured a longer wait. The Baltimore Orioles didn’t win their first title until 1966, a 64-year wait, but the bulk of that came while the franchise was the St. Louis Browns. The Rangers franchise also remained titleless during its eleven-year tenure as the new version of the Washington Senators. With the wait in Arlington over, the focus now shifts to the Seattle Mariners, who have never won a title in their 47 years of existence. –Bradford Doolittle