The Texas Rangers won the postseason series for the first time in 12 years since 2011.
Texas defeated the home team, the Tampa Bay Rays, 7-1 in Game 2 of the American League Wild Card Series held at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg on the 5th (Korean time) and advanced to the Division Series with two wins. The opponent in the division series is the Baltimore Orioles, the team with the highest winning percentage in the AL (101 wins and 61 losses).
The last time Texas won a postseason series was in 2011 when they advanced to the World Series. Since 2011, they have been eliminated from the playoffs three times, including the wild card and division series.
Starter Nathan Ibaldi laid the foundation for victory in the postseason that started last year by pitching 6 hits, 8 strikeouts, and 1 run in 6.2 innings against Tampa Bay, whose batting lineup was silent. Texas played a key role in advancing to the Division Series with Jordan Montgomery in Game 1, and the two starting pitchers pitching salty, not allowing a single walker over 13.2 innings. 13 strikeouts and zero walks.
It is a major postseason reversal for Texas, which was deprived of its home stadium advantage. Texas maintained its lead in the AL West until August. However, in the final game of the regular season, they were shut out 0-1 by the Seattle Mariners and lost the district championship to the Houston Astros despite being tied 90-72. The record between the teams in the regular season was 4 wins and 9 losses.
Coach Bruce Bochy said before the first game, “This is a very disappointing result. However, I expect the players will focus on the postseason match against Tampa Bay and take on a new challenge,” he said, sending a positive message to Texas fans.
The reality is that I was anxious about the wild card series against Tampa Bay. This is because the mound collapsed in September. In addition, Max Scherzer, the team’s spiritual leader on the mound, left the line due to injury. Both the starters and bullpen were poor and were unable to stop defending World Series champion Houston from pursuing them. The record from September to October was 15 wins and 14 losses, and the goal difference was -8. For the second time in the month – goals-loss difference. When we slumped to 11 wins and 13 losses in July, it was -10.
In the postseason, pace at the end of the season is very important. This is because the regular season atmosphere could continue into the postseason. Left-hander Montgomery (30), who started Game 1, continued pitching steadily after transferring from the St. Louis Cardinals at the deadline. Ivaldi (33)’s early rise in the second game was curtailed after being placed on the injured list. In September, the average difference jackpot was 9.30 with 1 win and 2 losses. But Ivaldi extended the fall baseball festivities with a super-quality start, allowing one run in 6.2 innings on the most important stage of the postseason.토토사이트
In Game 2, Texas hit Tampa Bay starter Jack Eflin with a long hit in the fourth inning. Cuban-born Adolis Garcia fired the first solo shot. Then, Josh Yong scored an extra point with a triple, and rookie Evan Carter, the ninth hitter, won the game with a two-run home run. Eflin failed to save the team, which was on the brink, with 8 hits, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts, and 5 runs (4 earned runs) in 5 innings.
Texas, the leader in offense among American League teams, even had poor batting in September. However, in the postseason, he regained his unique offensive power and showed off his formidable power. The first game was won by defense, and the second game was won by slugging power.
Meanwhile, Tampa Bay, which has established itself as a low-salary, high-efficiency team, was frustrated from advancing to the division series in the wild card series for two consecutive years due to a lack of batting lineup. Last year, the total number of points scored in 4 wild card games against the Cleveland Guardians and the All-Texas Rangers was only 2 points.