Texas Rangers win their first-ever World Series, beating the Arizona Diamondbacks in 5 games

KERA | By Megan Cardona,

Toluwani Osibamowo

Published November 1, 2023 at 10:18 PM CDT

Texas Rangers' Josh Jung and Nathaniel Lowe (30) celebrates after scoring on a single by Jonah Heim during the ninth inning in Game 5 of the baseball World Series against the Arizona Diamondbacks Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2023, in Phoenix.

They went and took it.

The Texas Rangers are World Series champions, securing their first championship in franchise history by shutting out the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-0 in Game 5 Wednesday night.

The win caps off an unlikely season in which the team went neck-and-neck with the defending champion Houston Astros — a team they later eliminated in the American League Championship Series to punch their ticket to the Fall Classic — and ended up with 90 wins after finishing nearly 30 games under .500 last year.

Wednesday’s win came on the road, but in Arlington, fans flocked to Globe Life Field to watch the game on the big screen inside the Rangers’ home park. The gathered crowd erupted with joy when the final out was called as they bore witness to history.

It was a decidedly different mood than the first few innings of the game, in which Diamondbacks ace Zac Gallen carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning before Texas shortstop Corey Seager slapped a single that just made it past the infield.

Two batters later, Seager was driven in by a Mitch Garver single for the first run of the game.

Texas batters tacked on four more runs in the top of the ninth including a two-run homer from Marcus Semien. Pitcher Josh Sborz retired three straight Arizona batters in the bottom of the ninth to close out the game.

The matchup was initially seen as “unlikely”, and some viewed both teams as underdogs this season.

It was the Rangers’ third time making it to the World Series — they previously made it in 2010 and 2011.

For the Diamondbacks, it was the team's second time in the World Series. They defeated the New York Yankees in 2001.

The win came without star slugger Adolis Garcia, who along with Max Scherzer was injured in Game 3. Garcia had an impressive postseason with eight home runs in 15 games.

The Texas Rangers made history in more ways than one this season. With 11 consecutive wins on the road, they have the longest road win streak in postseason history.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

Got a tip? Email Megan Cardona at mcardona@kera.org or Toluwani Osibamowo at tosibamowo@kera.org. You can follow them both on Twitter @megancardona and @tosibamowo.

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