On Monday, October 23, the Texas Rangers beat their rival Houston Astros to punch a ticket to the World Series. The Rangers have had a successful season with a regular season record of 90-72, tied with the Astros but being placed in 2nd due to a tiebreaker.
With the Wild Card round of the 2023 Postseason, the Rangers played the Tampa Bay Rays and won the series 2-0. Moving on to the ALDS, the Rangers played our hometown Baltimore Orioles who were coming off a first-round bye and the highest seed in the AL Postseason. The Rangers went on to win the series 3-0, eliminating the Orioles.
The ALCS arrived on Sunday, October 15, and the rival series was set. Texas Rangers vs. AL powerhouse Houston Astros. The Rangers pulled in front, taking the first two games at home, but the Astros responded on their home ground, taking the next two, making the series tied 2-2. The Astros took the next game, only needing to win one more game to go to the World Series. The Rangers took the next game, making the series tied 3-3 again, forcing a game seven.
On Monday, October 23, game seven had arrived, and the Rangers handled the Astros easily, winning 11-4 and punching their ticket to their first World Series since 2011. Adolis Garcia, a right-fielder for the Rangers, put up crazy numbers during this post-season, hitting 7 home runs, 20 RBIs, and sitting at a batting average of .327.
On the National League side of things, the Arizona Diamondbacks are heading to their first World Series since 2001 after a subpar 2022 season.
The Diamondbacks were complete underdogs going into the playoffs, barely winning over 80 games. They played the Milwaukee Brewers in the Wild Card Round, winning that series 2-0. Playing the Los Angeles Dodgers next in the NLDS, they faced a similar challenge as the Rangers, taking on a team who had dominated in the regular season. The Diamondbacks dominated that series 3-0, holding the Dodgers to only 6 runs through those 3 games.
The NLCS had come down to the reigning NL Champion Philadelphia Phillies and the Diamondbacks. With the Phillies up 3-2 in the series, the Diamondbacks pulled off a miraculous comeback to win the series 4-3. Corbin Carroll, an outfielder for Arizona, became the first player in MLB history to have 3+ hits and 2 stolen bases in a Game 7.
The first World Series game is Friday, October 27, at 8:03 p.m. Two underdog Wild Card teams have defeated powerhouse after powerhouse to reach this point. Who will take the crown?