The Texas Rangers are two wins away from the franchise's first ever World Series championship. Monday night the Rangers rode Corey Seager's two-run homer and stellar bullpen work to a Game 3 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks (TEX 3, ARI 1) and a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. Game 4 is Tuesday night at Chase Field. Here's how you can watch.
Monday's win improved the Rangers to a perfect 9-0 on the road this postseason. That is the longest road winning streak to begin a postseason and also the most road wins in a single postseason, breaking the tie with the 1996 New York Yankees (8-0) and 2019 Washington Nationals (8-1). Here are the longest postseason road winning streaks in baseball history:
- Texas Rangers: 9 games and counting (2023)
- New York Yankees: 9 games (1996-97)
- New York Yankees: 9 games (1937-41)
- Washington Nationals: 8 games (2019)
- New York Yankees: 8 games (1926-32)
"That's hard to explain," Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said Sunday when asked about the team's perfect road record in October. "It's always a great sign, I think, that guys are staying focused on the road. Sometimes on the road, you do spend more time together -- I know you (reporters) do -- and that can bring a team together, and just build that chemistry you love about a club."
The Rangers went 40-41 on the road during the regular season and they dropped three of four to the Seattle Mariners in T-Mobile Park in the final series of the season to essentially blow the AL West title. The thing is, the Rangers outscored their opponents by 65 runs on the road during the regular season. For whatever reason they stacked a lot of close losses away from home.
Texas closed out the regular season with a seven-game road trip and has played only six home games in the last 38 days. That might be for the best though seeing how the Rangers are 2-4 and have been outscored 38-26 at Globe Life Field this postseason. Here are three reasons the Rangers have nine wins in nine tries on the road this October.
1. The offense keeps scoring early
Seven times in their nine postseason road games the Rangers scored first -- they're 9-0 when scoring first this October -- including putting a three-spot on the board in the top of the first inning in Game 7 of the Championship Series against the Houston Astros. In six of their nine road games, Texas had the lead after three innings, and in all nine road games they had the lead after four innings.
The offense has fired on all cylinders just about the entire postseason, though getting out to those fast starts on the road is a bit easier when you have Seager (.298/.444/.649 this postseason) hitting second and then Evan Carter (.333/.425/.549) and Adolis García (.323/.382/.726) batting third and fourth in either order. Those three are instant offense in the top of the first inning.
2. Eovaldi and Montgomery have been excellent
It's helped that Nathan Eovaldi and Jordan Montgomery have six starts and one relief appearance in the nine road games. Eovaldi has proven himself to be one of the best postseason pitchers of this generation and really of all-time. He owns a career 3.30 ERA in 73 2/3 postseason innings and that includes his rough World Series Game 1 start at Globe Life Field (five runs in 4 2/3 innings).
Montgomery had limited postseason experience prior to 2023, though he pitched in many hostile and high-pressure environments during his time in the AL East with the Yankees. He was as prepared for road postseason games as much as anyone with 6 2/3 career postseason innings coming into the season could be. Eovaldi and Montgomery have a combined 2.33 ERA in 38 1/3 innings on the road this October.
3. A few things have gone their way
In the ALCS, the Rangers became the second team ever to win four road games in a single postseason series, joining those 2019 Nationals, who also did it against the Astros. The Astros, incredibly, went only 39-42 at Minute Maid Park during the regular season, including 7-22 in their final 29 home games. Even after changing the batter's eye, the Astros could not hit or win at their home ballpark.
This postseason the Rangers got matched up with a Tampa Bay Rays team without its ace (Shane McClanahan) in the Wild Card Series, a Baltimore Orioles team that gave the ball to two young pitchers making their postseason debut (Kyle Bradish and Grayson Rodriguez) in Games 1 and 2 of the Division Series at Camden Yards, and an Astros team that couldn't win at home in the ALCS.
This is not to take anything away from Texas. You can only play the schedule and opponents you're given and no team in baseball history has won as much on the road in the postseason as the Rangers this year. Every team needs a few breaks along the way to win a pennant though, and the Rangers got a few with their matchups this year. Credit to them for capitalizing.
