Texas Rangers pitcher Nathan Eovaldi was on the top of his game once again Tuesday night as his team looked to sweep out the Baltimore Orioles at home in Game 3 of their American League Divisional Series matchup.
The veteran pitched seven inning of one run ball, striking out seven while walking zero. As Eovaldi was doing his thing, Corey Seager, Adolis García and Nathaniel Lowe all went deep to give Texas what would be an insurmountable lead in Arlington.
Seager’s solo blast in the first inning represented the 14th of his postseason career, pretty much sending the home fans into a frenzy.
With Texas up 3-0 in the second after a two-run double from Mitch Garver, Garcia went deep on a three-run blast to pretty much put this away at 6-0. It was a no doubter.
Lowe added a solo blast in the sixth, as Texas went up 7-1. That would end up being the final score as José Leclerc closed things out with a perfect ninth inning to send the Texas Rangers to their first American League Championship Series since back in 2011.
The scene was absolutely electric in Arlington.
Texas was among the final teams to clinch a spot in the MLB Playoffs despite leading the American League West for the majority of the season. It was 18-23 in the final 41 regular season games, showing us that momentum doesn’t necessarily mean much heading into the playoffs.
The Rangers disposed of the 99-win Tampa Bay Rays 2-0 in the wild card round before sweeping the 101-win Baltimore Orioles in the ALDS. In the process, they outscored these two juggernauts by a combined margin of 32-12. Talk about complete and utter domination.
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MLB world reacts to Texas Rangers advancing to the ALCS
After a 68-win season in 2022, Rangers general manager Chris Young put a plan in place to add pitching to a hitter-heavy roster. He was also shockingly able to lure World Series winning manager Bruce Bochy out of retirement.
What we saw from the Rangers Tuesday night in Arlington was the latest example of Young’s work paying off. And it led to some big-time reactions from those around the MLB world as Texas advanced to the ALCS to face either the Houston Astros or Minnesota Twins.
That included stud Rangers starter Nathan Eovaldi, who put up a gem of an effort Tuesday night.