Rangers finish off Rays to advance to the ALDS
Two years after losing 102 games, the resilient Texas Rangers are savoring a journey that's transformed them into a playoff team.
“It's all about bouncing back, dealing with the tough times. You know you're going to have them,” manager Bruce Bochy said Wednesday after the Rangers beat the Tampa Bay Rays 7-1 to finish a two-game AL Wild Card Series sweep.
“What's important is how you handle it, and thse guys have handled it so well,” Bochy added. “I think we were counted out earlier in the season or late August ... but what a job they did to bounce back and to be in this position.”
The Rangers rode a rollercoaster of emotions while losing three of four games at Seattle and letting the AL West division title slip away on the final day of the regular season. Instead of returning home with a firstround playoff bye, Texas was rewarded with a cross-country flight to Florida.
“We had to fly to fly right over Dallas, so that could have been really a downer for the club,” said Bochy, a first-year manager with Texas after winning three titles with San Francisco. “They reset, refocused, and just put together two of the best games back to back that we probably have had all year when you look at the pitching, the offense, the defense — everything we knew we had to do to beat a club like Tampa.”
The next stop is Baltimore, where the Rangers begin a Division Series against the AL East champion Orioles on Saturday.
Adolis Garcia and Evan Carter, a 20-year-old rookie who became the second-youngest postseason player in franchise history, homered off Zach Eflin, a 16-game winner unable to save Tampa Bay's season.
Nathan Eovaldi gave Texas an outstanding pitching performance. The Rays' scoreless streak reached 33 innings, one shy of the postseason record held by the 1966-74 Dodgers, before Curtis Mead's RBI single in the seventh.
Texas won a postseason series for the first time since 2011, when the Rangers reached the World Series before losing to St. Louis.
After a 13-0 start to match the 1982 Atlanta Braves and 1987 Milwaukee Brewers, the Rays led the AL East from opening day and then were overtaken by the Orioles in mid-July.
After gaining the AL's top wild card, Tampa Bay extended its postseason losing streak to seven straight. In getting swept in consecutive Wild Card Series, the Rays scored two runs over four games while hitting .161.
Injuries were a factor in the fade to second in the AL East. The Rays also had to play down the stretch without All-Star shortstop Wander Franco, on administrative leave while Major League Baseball and authorities in the Dominican Republic investigate an alleged relationship between Franco and a minor.
Eovaldi, beating the Rays for the third time this year, allowed six hits while striking out eight and walking none over 6 2/3 innings.
Garcia's leadoff homer began a four-run fourth inning against Eflin. Josh Jung had a RBI triple and Carter hit a two-run homer to right for the Rangers, 7-0 in postseason games at Tropicana Field.
Carter batted .306 with five homers and 12 RBIs over 23 games after making his major league debut on Sept. 8. He reached base in his first six postseason at-bats, doubling twice and drawing three walks.
TWINS 2, BLUE JAYS 0 » Carlos Correa contributed an RBI single and a quick-twitch tag off a pickoff throw from Sonny Gray, and the Twins swept the Blue Jays in their AL Wild Card Series.
The Twins advanced — for the first time in 21 years — to play the defending World Series champion Astros. Game 1 of the best-offive AL Division Series is in Houston on Saturday.
The Blue Jays, who lost their seventh straight game in the playoffs since the AL Championship Series in 2016, left nine runners on base after stranding nine men in Game 1. Matt Chapman had a liner go just foul before grounding into an inning-ending double play with the bases loaded in the sixth.
The Blue Jays had runners on second and third in the fifth when Gray picked off Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at second, ending the inning. Gray whipped around and threw to the shortstop Correa, who grabbed the ball and grazed Guerrero's chest with his glove a split-second before Guerrero's hand hit the base. DIAMONDBACKS 5, BREWERS 2» Zac Gallen settled down after a shaky start and Arizona's bullpen stepped up at the very end, helping the Diamondbacks sweep their NL Wild Card Series against the Brewers.
Just two years after suffering through a 110-loss season, Arizona moved into the franchise's first NL Division Series since 2017. The Diamondbacks will take on the NL West champion Dodgers in the opener of their best-of-five series on Saturday in Los Angeles.
The NL Central champion Brewers have dropped nine of their last 10 playoff games, a stretch that started with their Game 7 home loss to the Dodgers in the 2018 NL Championship Series.
Ketel Marte put Arizona ahead for good with a tworun single during a fourrun rally in the sixth inning as Milwaukee right-hander Freddy Peralta faded after a strong start.
PHILLIES 7, MARLINS 1 » Bryson Stott crushed the second grand slam in Philadelphia postseason history and Aaron Nola tossed seven shutout innings in a performance worthy of a postseason ace that led to the win over Miami and a two-game sweep in their NL Wild Card Series.
J.T. Realmuto also homered as the Phillies advanced to another bestof-five NL Division Series against Ronald Acuña Jr., Matt Olson and the Braves. Game 1 is Saturday in Atlanta.
MELVIN TO RETURN AS PADRES MANAGER » Bob Melvin will be back as manager of the big-spending San Diego Padres following the most disappointing season in franchise history, general manager A.J. Preller said. The announcement came three days after the star-laden Padres finished 82-80. The entered the season with World Series aspirations after making a stirring run to the NL Championship Series last fall and then increasing their payroll to around $258 million on opening day, the third-highest in baseball.
ALSO » Arizona Diamondbacks general manager Mike Hazen has received a new contact through the 2028 season with a club option for 2029, according to a person familiar with the deal . ... Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said outfielder Jake McCarthy strained his oblique while taking batting practice Tuesday and is weeks from being healthy enough to play.