ARLINGTON, Texas — Corey Seager is still going deep in Texas during the postseason. This time he is doing it for the Rangers, who are streaking through October.
Seager and Adolis García homered early, Nathan Eovaldi pitched seven smooth innings in another playoff clincher and Texas completed an AL Division Series sweep of the Baltimore Orioles with a 7-1 victory in Game 3 on Tuesday night.
“We’ve just been playing good ball,” Seager said. “Can’t say enough about what our pitching staff has been able to do.”
The Rangers, whose loss at Seattle on the last day of the regular season made them a wild-card team instead of the AL West champion, have since won all five of their postseason games. They are headed to the American League Championship Series for the first time since 2011.
“We had our work cut out going on the road against Tampa and Baltimore,” said Texas manager Bruce Bochy, a three-time World Series champion with San Francisco who is now going to his first ALCS. “Just shows the toughness with this ballclub and the deal with having to fly to Tampa. Trust me, they wanted to win one more game in the worst way. Didn’t happen. … They put it behind them.”
The AL East champion Orioles, who won a league-high 101 games, were the only team in baseball to not get swept in a series during the regular season, but are now done after a sweep at the most inopportune time. The Orioles are the second team in MLB history to go a non-shortened regular season without being swept and then get swept in the postseason. The 1998 Padres were swept by the Yankees in the World Series.
Baltimore has lost eight playoff games in a row over the past 10 seasons.
“Really proud of our group,” Baltimore manager Brandon Hyde said. “They defied all the odds. Nobody gave us a chance. These guys played their butts off for six months. We just didn’t play well for these last three [games], unfortunately.”
It was the first Rangers playoff game at Globe Life Field, the stadium that was brand new in 2020 when it hosted much of MLB’s neutral postseason during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Los Angeles Dodgers spent most of that October there, and Seager was the MVP in both the NLCS and World Series. A year later, the shortstop went to Texas on a $325 million, 10-year deal and now he occupies the same locker he did during that most unusual postseason with limited attendance.
With a full house for his first home playoff game with the Rangers, Seager sent the record sellout crowd of 40,861 into a frenzy when he connected in his first at-bat, pulling a 445-foot drive into the right-field seats. He went deep seven times for the Dodgers here in 2020.
“That’s what he does. He’s done it before in the big moments,” said Marcus Semien, the second baseman who signed with Texas for $175 million over seven years the same week as Seager’s deal. “He picks his game up in the playoffs. It’ll be really fun to see what he can do as we move on.”
García’s three-run homer — one the All-Star slugger admired while taking a few slow steps out of the batter’s box — made it 6-0 in the second to chase Orioles right-hander Dean Kremer, the Israeli-American pitcher making his first career postseason start.
Nathaniel Lowe also homered for Texas, a solo shot in the sixth. Lowe had led off the Rangers’ five-run second inning with a lineout to left, but that came on the 15th pitch of the at-bat after fouling off nine two-strike pitches.
“I saw a team that was really motivated,” Bochy said. “The offense, everybody was doing something to contribute.”
Seager is one of five Texas hitters who started for the AL squad in this year’s All-Star Game. That is quite a lineup for Bochy, who was hired last offseason by Rangers general manager Chris Young, one of the manager’s former pitchers in San Diego.
Also an All-Star in his first season with the Rangers, Eovaldi has won both their series-clinching games this postseason. Those are the right-hander’s longest and best two starts since returning in September after missing seven weeks because of a right forearm strain.
Eovaldi threw 76 of 98 pitches for strikes without a walk while allowing only one run and striking out seven. He was serenaded with chants of his name as he walked off the mound after the seventh — and then was prodded out of the dugout by García to tip his cap to the crowd. Eovaldi also won the wild-card series clincher at Tampa Bay last Wednesday.
“I’ve never had a curtain call or anything like that, but our fans were bringing it all night long,” he said. “When I walked out at 6:30 tonight, they were chanting, ‘Let’s go Rangers.’ I knew it was going to be a really good night for us.”
Jose Leclerc got the final four outs, the first one with the bases loaded in the eighth when he induced an inning-ending groundout by pinch hitter Aaron Hicks, who in the ninth inning of Game 2 had hit a three-run homer off him.
Leclerc pitched a perfect ninth, setting off celebratory fireworks inside the ballpark when he struck out Jordan Westburg to end the game.
Kremer’s 1⅔ innings marked his shortest outing all season. The 27-year-old wore a Star of David necklace as usual, with thoughts of extended family members in Israel, where war has been declared following a deadly incursion by militant group Hamas. His mother was at the game.
Kremer was 13-5 with a 4.12 ERA in 32 regular-season starts that included Baltimore’s two clinching games: Sept. 17 to secure a playoff spot, and 11 days later for the team’s 100th win to clinch the AL East.
“Offensively, we weren’t at our best the last two, three weeks of the season. That carried into the postseason where we had guys scuffling,” Hyde said. “They rolled in with a ton of momentum. I don’t think we rolled in with a ton of momentum offensively.”
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Penn State quarterback Drew Allar, who left the Nittany Lions’ stunning 22-21 loss to Northwestern on Saturday, is out for the season, coach James Franklin said in his postgame media availability.
Allar hobbled off the field after a third-down play in the fourth quarter, and was eventually carted off to the locker room. He was replaced by Ethan Grunkemeyer.
“Drew will be done for the year,” Franklin said.
Penn State (3-3) has now lost three straight games, with two of those coming in Happy Valley. The reeling Nittany Lions will take on Iowa next Saturday.
It’s a different story for the Wildcats. They surged to 4-2 as Caleb Komolafe ran for 72 yards and a touchdown to stun the Beaver Stadium crowd. Preston Stone threw for 163 yards with a touchdown pass to Griffin Wilde, and Jack Olsen kicked three field goals for the Wildcats, who won their third straight and moved to 2-1 in the Big Ten.
The Wildcats, who hadn’t won in Beaver Stadium since 2014, took the lead for good with 4:51 remaining when Komolafe bulled his way through Penn State’s defense to cap a 75-yard drive.
The Nittany Lions, who fell to 0-3 in the league, got the ball back, but that’s when Allar suffered his injury. Grunkemeyer was immediately stopped on a fourth-down run, and the Wildcats ran the clock out from there.
“It’s 100 percent on me,” Franklin said of the loss. “And we got to get it fixed. And I will get it fixed.”
Allar, Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen ran for touchdowns for the Nittany Lions. It was the fifth time a Franklin-coached Penn State team has lost at least three consecutive games in a season.
The Nittany Lions, who committed six penalties for 71 yards in the first half, could never get out of their way. Meanwhile, the Wildcats played steady, almost mistake-free football in front of a flat Penn State crowd that chanted “Fire James Franklin!” early.
Allar was intercepted on Penn State’s opening drive when he threw the ball right to defensive back Ore Adeyi in the end zone. Adeyi returned it to the Northwestern 33, and the Wildcats turned it into three points 12 plays later with Jack Olsen’s 27-yard field goal with 2:51 left in the first quarter.
The Nittany Lions finally got their offense moving with Allen. He carried five times on Penn State’s next possession and gave his team a 7-3 lead when he muscled in from 11 yards out early in the second.
Northwestern marched into Penn State’s territory on its next possession, and Stone found a wide-open Wilde for a go-ahead 28-yard touchdown pass.
The Wildcats appeared to get a stop on defense but fumbled away the ensuing punt. The Nittany Lions needed nine plays from Northwestern’s 26 but finally broke through on a fourth-and-goal when Singleton slashed around the Wildcats’ left flank for a 2-yard touchdown.
Olsen made a 34-yarder with three seconds left to cut Penn State’s lead to 14-13 at halftime.
EUGENE, Ore. — Fernando Mendoza threw for 215 yards and a key fourth-quarter touchdown and No. 7 Indiana remained undefeated with a 30-20 victory over No. 3 Oregon on Saturday.
Roman Hemby added a pair of scoring runs for the Hoosiers (6-0, 3-0 Big Ten), who frustrated the Ducks (5-1, 2-1) with stout defensive play.
The victory was Indiana’s second against an AP top-five opponent in program history. The Hoosiers entered Saturday having lost 46 consecutive games vs. AP top-five opponents, tied with Wake Forest for the longest streak in the AP poll era, according to ESPN Research.
Dante Moore threw for 186 yards and a touchdown for Oregon. He had two interceptions and was sacked six times.
With Oregon down 20-13 going into the fourth quarter, Brandon Finney Jr. intercepted Mendoza’s pass and ran it back 35 yards to tie the game with 12:42 left.
Mendoza answered with an 8-yard scoring pass to Elijah Sarratt with 6:23 to go. On Oregon’s next series, Dante Moore’s pass was intercepted by Louis Moore.
Brendan Franke added a 22-yard field goal for the Hoosiers with 2:06 left.
Both teams were coming off weeks off. In their last game, the Ducks beat Penn State 30-24 in double overtime on the road in the annual White Out game. The Hoosiers beat Iowa 20-15 on the road.
On the first series of the game, the Ducks failed at a fourth-and-1 attempt, giving the Hoosiers good field position for their opening drive. It ended with Nico Radicic‘s 42-yard field goal.
Oregon pulled ahead with Dante Moore’s 44-yard touchdown pass to Malik Benson, but Hemby rushed for a 3-yard touchdown before the end of the first quarter to make it 10-7.
Atticus Sappington‘s 40-yard field goal tied it up for the Ducks, but a later 36-yard attempt that would have given Oregon the lead went wide left.
Franke kicked a 58-yard field goal as time ran out to give Indiana a 13-10 advantage at the break.
Sappington’s 33-yard field goal in the third quarter tied it again for Oregon, but Hemby added his second touchdown for the Hoosiers, a 2-yard dash late in the period.
DALLAS — Ryan Niblett returned a punt 75 yards for a decisive touchdown in the fourth quarter and Texas got a much-needed 23-6 win over sixth-rankedOklahoma in their annual Red River Rivalry game on Saturday.
Arch Manning completed 21 of 27 passes for 166 yards and the go-ahead 12-yard TD to DeAndre Moore Jr. on the opening drive of the second half for the Longhorns (4-2, 1-1 Southeastern Conference), who were coming off a loss at Florida that knocked the preseason No. 1 team out of the AP Top 25.
Texas retained the Golden Hat trophy and should get back into the next poll on Sunday. More importantly, the Longhorns avoided a loss that likely would have ended any realistic chance of getting into the College Football Playoff for the third year in a row.
John Mateer was 20-of-38 passing with three interceptions in his return to the lineup for Oklahoma (5-1, 1-1) only 17 days after surgery on his throwing (right) hand.
Niblett worked up the sideline in front of the Texas bench, and after making a cut inside near midfield bounced off a teammate and continued his sprint to the end zone for a 20-6 lead with 9:59 left.
When the Sooners gained 38 yards on three plays to the Texas 27 on the ensuing drive, Mateer had an incompletion before being sacked on consecutive plays and then had another incompletion on fourth-and-22. They finished with only 258 total yards.
Mason Shipley kicked field goals of 22, 48 and 39 yards for the Longhorns. He had two long misses, the first a 55-yard attempt that ricocheted off the right upright, and was later short on a 56-yard attempt.
Tate Sandell kicked a 42-yard field goal on the game’s opening drive for the Sooners. He made it 6-0 with a 41-yarder in the second quarter, but they didn’t score again.
