The fact Texas will face off against a team that’s an even more surprising World Series entrant than the Rangers is sure to make for a fun week or two of baseball. A couple of Cinderella stories is always fun for sports fans.
But this is where things get a bit tricky, and even emotional for some. Twelve years ago tonight, the Rangers dramatically squandered its best chance to win the championship for the first time in team history.
Needing only one out in the bottom of the ninth inning to win Game 6 of the 2011 World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals, right fielder Nelson Cruz misplayed a David Freese fly ball, missing the catch completely and allowing the tying run to score. In extra innings, the Rangers, miraculously, were again one out away from a title-clinching win when, again, Freese smacked a game-winning home run in the 11th inning, sending the series to a Game 7. You probably know by now that the Rangers didn’t win Game 7.
To be within a single out of a World Series title on two different occasions in the same game and lose has been a tough pill that is still not fully swallowed by Rangers fans. Just as the Dallas Mavericks washed away the bitter taste of their 2006 NBA Finals defeat when they finally won it all in 2011, we think the Rangers can do the same thing this year. In fact, we’re choosing to think that this year’s World Series starting on the anniversary of such a traumatic night is a good thing.
Here’s what you need to know about the 2023 Major league Baseball World Series:
#WorldSeries attitude. pic.twitter.com/NPEuMzv3OR
— Texas Rangers (@Rangers) October 26, 2023
What the Experts Are Saying
To Las Vegas oddsmakers, your Texas Rangers are the definite favorite to win the series. As of Thursday night, BetMGM has the Rangers sitting at -135 and the Diamondbacks at +145. Of course, Arizona, it should be noted, was the underdog when their last series, against the powerful Philadelphia Phillies, began. Also, and this isn’t insignificant, the Diamondbacks won 3 out of the 4 games they played against Texas in the regular season.Three of the four ESPN fantasy sports and betting experts picked the Rangers to take the title, with one writer predicting that “their offense will prove too tough for the Diamondbacks' pitching staff.” The folks at CBS Sports also predict the Rangers will come away with the championship and that ace fireballer Nathan Eovaldi will take home the World Series MVP trophy.
How Did The Diamondbacks Get Here?
The storyline that will likely get beaten to death over the next week or two will be how both the Rangers and the Diamondbacks were terrible teams for the years immediately prior to 2023. Unlike the Rangers, who successfully threw nearly $1 billion dollars towards all-star contracts over the past two years, Arizona has built their winning team with youth and low-priced, crafty veterans. Led by all-star rookie outfielder Corbin Carroll, the D-Backs won 84 games, just barely finishing above .500 for the year while finishing second in the National League West, well behind the high-dollar Los Angeles Dodgers. But the Diamondbacks beat the Dodgers in the NL division series, which sent them to an epic seven game NLCS vs. the Phillies.How Can the Rangers Win the Series?
As simple as it sounds, it’s still true: the Rangers have to play like the better team they truly are. The Rangers' season nearly ended in the ALCS against Houston because they couldn't win any of the three games in Arlington. The best teams protect their home turf in October, and since Texas has home field advantage in the series, they have more chances to do so now. It will also help for the Ranger bats to not take any days off the way they did against Houston. Eovaldi and fellow starter Jordan Montgomery have been stellar, but the Rangers still lack the kind of starting pitching depth a surefire favorite typically has, which could mean leadoff hitting second baseman Marcus Semien should choose now to break out of his depressing slump at the plate.When Are the Games?
- Game 1: Friday, Oct. 27, at 7:03 p.m. in Arlington
- Game 2: Saturday, Oct. 28, at 7:03 p.m. in Arlington
- Game 3: Monday, Oct. 30, at 7:03 p.m. in Phoenix
- Game 4: Tuesday, Oct. 31, at 7:03 p.m. in Phoenix
- Game 5: Wednesday, Nov. 1, at 7:03 p.m. in Phoenix (if necessary)
- Game 6: Friday, Nov. 3, at 7:03 p.m. in Arlington (if necessary)
- Game 7: Saturday, Nov. 4, at 8:03 p.m. in Arlington (if necessary)
