The Texas Rangers opened the 2023 Fall Classic with a dramatic come-from-behind victory.
Texas came from behind to defeat the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-5 at home in Game 1 of the best-of-seven 2023 Major League Baseball (MLB) World Series at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, U.S., on Monday (June 28).
Corey Seager hit a dramatic game-winning home run with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning as Texas trailed 3-5.
Then, in the bottom of the 11th inning of extra innings, Adolis Garcia hit the game-winning home run.
Texas, which is seeking its first World Series title since its inception, won in dramatic fashion in front of its home fans.
The two teams opened the day’s play with a quote from former U.S. President George W. Bush.
Both Texas and Arizona have ties to the former president.
For Texas, it’s the “former owner” who owned the team from 1989 to 1994, and for Arizona, it’s the then-president who threw out the ceremonial first pitch in the 2001 World Series, their only championship.
The first team to strike first was Texas, which has been on fire all postseason.
Texas opened the scoring in the top of the first inning when No. 2 hitter Corey Seager drew a walk and stole second before Evan Carter followed with an RBI double.
Four batters later, Garcia hit a clean single through the left side of the infield to bring home a runner from second to make it 2-0.
Arizona tied the game in the top of the third.
Leadoff hitter Alec Thomas led off the inning with an infield single over the pitcher’s head.
Evan Longoria followed with a single to put runners on first and second, and the Arizona bench signed for a sacrifice bunt.
After Heraldo Perdomo, who had a National League-leading 14 sacrifice bunts this season, laid down a clean bunt to put runners on second and third, Corbin Carroll hit a two-run triple to put the game out of reach.
Texas center fielder Leodis Taveras misjudged the pitch and turned what could have been a single into a triple.
With quick feet, Carroll made it to third base, and the next batter, Ketel Marte, made a daring grab for home on a quick infield grounder in front of the first baseman to make it a 3-2 game.
After Texas tied the game in the bottom of the third on Mitch Garber’s bases-loaded walk, Arizona regained the lead.
In the top of the fourth, leadoff hitter Tommy Pham hit a thunderous solo arch over the left field wall.
In the top of the fifth, leadoff hitter Perdomo led off with a single, stole second and scored on Marte’s RBI double to make it 5-3.
It was Marte’s 17th consecutive postseason hit, tying him with Manny Ramirez and Derek Jeter for the longest postseason hitting streak.
Texas rallied to tie the game in its final at-bat in the bottom of the ninth. Taveras drew a leadoff walk, and one out later, Seager hit a two-run homer over the right field fence.
Then, in the bottom of the 11th inning, Garcia, this year’s fall baseball hero, took a devastating swing and cleared the right field fence.
Garcia drove a low sinker from Miguel Castro over the fence for a 171-mile-per-hour, bullet-like home run.
It was Garcia’s eighth home run of fall ball and his fifth in a row. His 22 RBIs set a new record for most RBIs in a single postseason, passing David Freese (St. Louis-21) in 2011.
The two teams will play Game 2 of the WS on May 29 at the same location.
Arizona will start right-hander Merrill Kelly, the author of “The KBO’s Reverse Export Myth,” and Texas will start left-hander Jordan Montgomery.
Kelly went 12-8 with a 3.29 ERA in 30 regular-season games and 177⅔ innings, and this postseason, he went 2-1 with a 2.65 ERA in three games and 17 innings to lead Arizona to the World Series.
Montgomery finished the regular season with a 10-11 record and a 3.20 ERA in 32 games and 188⅔ innings pitched, and went 3-0 with a 2.16 ERA in five games and 25 innings pitched in fall ball this year. 스포츠토토