Rangers stay perfect on road to take control of WS
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Alden Gonzalez, ESPN Staff Writer
PHOENIX — The Texas Rangers‘ prowess on the road this postseason has been a source of widespread inquiry but very little explanation. Max Scherzer, whose 2019 Washington Nationals rode a similar run to a championship, was the latest to deliberate on the topic and struggled to explain it himself. Instead, he referenced a trait that transcends setting.
“Nothing’s going to faze us,” he said before Sunday’s workout. “We’ve seen it. I feel like I’ve seen it over my time since I’ve been here on the Rangers — that there’s been moments where you think the team is going to fold over, and it absolutely snaps back the other way and punches the other guy in the face.”
It was obvious once again Monday night.
Scherzer’s back spasmed three innings into his start, forcing him to exit Game 3 of the World Series after recording only nine outs. It was Jon Gray, the veteran starter turned temporary reliever, who provided the big punch, delivering three quality innings to hand a small lead over to the Rangers’ high-leverage relievers and set the tone in a 3-1 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The Rangers have now won an unprecedented nine consecutive road games in these playoffs, a run that saw them surge past the 99-win Tampa Bay Rays, the 101-win Baltimore Orioles and the defending champion Houston Astros. Two more, and the Rangers — with a 2-1 lead over the D-backs in this best-of-seven series — will claim the first championship in their 62-year history.
To get here, they overcame an eight-game losing streak near the middle of August and six losses in seven games to begin September. They responded to losing the division title on the final day of the regular season by reeling off seven consecutive playoff wins, then lost three consecutive American League Championship Series games at home, only to clinch the pennant with back-to-back road victories in Houston.
Now they might have to overcome injuries to two of their most decorated players.
Scherzer, who lines up to start a potential Game 7, is hopeful that the back spasms will subside within the next 48 hours but was still very much uncertain when he addressed the media at his locker postgame. Adolis Garcia, the dynamic right fielder who has done most of the heavy lifting offensively this month, had already left Chase Field by then. He was undergoing imaging on his left side after seemingly tweaking his oblique on a swing in the eighth inning, prompting his exit.
“He’s been the heart and soul of our team,” Marcus Semien said of Garcia. “That being said, we’ve had Adolis go down earlier in the season, we’ve had guys step up, and that’s what the entire year has been.”
The Rangers’ rise from a 102-loss team in 2021 to one that is on the precipice of a championship in 2023 began Nov. 30, 2021. The Rangers signed Semien and Corey Seager to contracts that totaled $500 million that day — but they also signed Gray to a four-year, $56 million deal. Gray spent the next two seasons serving as a solid member of their starting rotation, posting a 4.05 ERA in 53 starts. But he experienced forearm tightness in late September, prompting a stint on the injured list that led to him serving as a reliever for the tail end of these playoffs.
Gray contributed five critical outs in Game 1, then warmed up to begin the bottom of the fourth in Game 3 — one inning after Semien’s RBI single and Seager’s 421-foot two-run homer gave the Rangers a 3-0 lead against rookie right-hander Brandon Pfaadt. Scherzer had motioned to the Rangers’ training staff, then came out of the game because an achy back would not allow him to keep pitching. Gray proceeded to retire nine of the 10 batters he faced, three of them via strikeout. He needed only 30 pitches. Josh Sborz, Aroldis Chapman and Jose Leclerc handled the rest.
“This is what we envisioned,” Seager said of he, Semien and Gray putting the Rangers one step closer to a title. “This is where we wanted to be. We talked about it before.”
Gray, 31, had made 205 pitching appearances across nine major league seasons. All but one had come as a starting pitcher.
Transitioning to a reliever hasn’t been as difficult as he imagined.
“It was pretty easy because I had missed so much time early in the playoffs,” Gray said. “There was so much I couldn’t do. When I was celebrating with the guys, I really didn’t feel like I contributed. So to be able to get a chance to help is all I can ask for. I was really happy about that.”
The Rangers benefited from three sizeable breaks. In the second, D-backs first baseman Christian Walker ran through a stop sign from third-base coach Tony Perezchica and was thrown out at home by Garcia. Later that inning, a sharp one-hopper off the bat of Alek Thomas ricocheted off Scherzer’s right elbow and rolled close enough for Rangers third baseman Josh Jung to make a slick barehand play. And in the ninth, Gabriel Moreno took an outside pitch that should’ve prompted a leadoff walk but was instead ruled a strike by home plate umpire Alfonso Marquez, a call that D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said he was “not happy about.”
But the Rangers also made their own luck, most notably in the bottom of the eighth shortly after Arizona picked up its first run off Chapman. Ketel Marte hit a 114-mph grounder to the left side, but Seager ranged to his left, fielded it and flipped to Semien to start an inning-ending double play.
Moments later, Seager was asked how his team continues to find ways to win outside of Arlington, Texas.
He struggled to answer, too.
“We’re just showing up to play every day,” Seager said. “We’re trying to win that day. No matter where we are, we’re trying to play good baseball every day. I don’t know how to credit it to anything other than that, really. Sorry.”
The 2025 MLB All-Star Home Run Derby is fast approaching — and the field is starting to take shape.
Braves hometown hero Ronald Acuna Jr. become the first player to commit to the event, which will be held at Truist Park in Atlanta on July 14 (8 p.m. ET on ESPN). He has since been followed by MLB home run leader Cal Raleigh of the Seattle Mariners, James Wood of the Washington Nationals and Byron Buxton of the Minnesota Twins.
As the entrants are announced, we’ll add them to the running list below — and break down their chances at taking home this year’s Derby prize.
Full All-Star Game coverage: How to watch, schedule, rosters, more
2025 home runs: 9 | Longest: 467 feet
Why he could win: Acuna has been crushing it since he returned to the lineup May 23 after knee surgery. Indeed, his numbers are even better than during his MVP season in 2023. It should help that he’ll be hitting in front of his home fans in Atlanta: Todd Frazier in Cincinnati in 2015 and Bryce Harper with the Nationals in 2018 rode the loud support to Derby titles. Acuna’s raw power should also translate well to the Derby: Among players with at least 500 at-bats since 2023, he has the longest average home run distance in the majors.
Why he might not: Will he run into Pete Alonso again? Acuna competed in the 2019 and 2022 contests, losing both times to Alonso by a single home run (in the semifinals in 2019 and in the first round in 2022). The home-field advantage can also perhaps be a detriment if a player gets too hyped up in the first round. See Julio Rodriguez in Seattle in 2023, when he had a monster first with 41 home runs but then tired out in the second round.
2025 home runs: 35 | Longest: 440 feet
Why he could win: It’s the season of Cal! The Mariners’ catcher is having one of the greatest slugging first halves in MLB history, with 32 home runs, as he’s been crushing mistakes all season . His easy raw power might be tailor-made for the Derby — he ranks in the 87th percentile in average exit velocity and delivers the ball, on average, at the optimal home run launch angle of 23 degrees. His calm demeanor might also be perfect for the contest as he won’t get too amped up.
Why he might not: He’s a catcher — and one who has carried a heavy workload, playing in all but one game this season. This contest is as much about stamina as anything, and whether Raleigh can carry his power through three rounds would be a concern. No catcher has ever won the Derby, with only Ivan Rodriguez back in 2005 even reaching the finals.
2025 home runs: 23 | Longest: 451 feet
Why he could win: He’s big, he’s strong, he’s young, he’s awesome, he might or might not be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. This is the perfect opportunity for Wood to show his talent on the national stage, and he wouldn’t be the first young player to star in the Derby. He ranks in the 97th percentile in average exit velocity and 99th percentile in hard-hit rate, so he can still muscle the ball out in BP even if he slightly mishits it. His long arms might be viewed as a detriment, but remember the similarly tall Aaron Judge won in 2017.
Why he might not: His natural swing isn’t a pure uppercut — he has a pretty low average launch angle of just 6.2 degrees — so we’ll see how that plays in a rapid-fire session. In real games, his power is primarily to the opposite field, but in a Home Run Derby you can get more cheapies pulling the ball down the line.
2025 home runs: 20 | Longest: 479 feet
Why he can win: Buxton’s raw power remains as impressive as nearly any hitter in the game. He crushed a 479-foot home run earlier this season and has four others of at least 425 feet. Indeed, his “no doubter” percentage — home runs that would be out of all 30 parks based on distance — is 75%, the highest in the majors among players with more than a dozen home runs. His bat speed ranks in the 89th percentile. In other words, two tools that could translate to a BP lightning show.
Why he won’t: Buxton is 31 and the Home Run Derby feels a little more like a younger man’s competition. Teoscar Hernandez did win last year at age 31, but before that, the last winner older than 29 was David Ortiz in 2010, and that was under much different rules than are used now.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Pittsburgh Pirates are back on the board after Tommy Pham‘s two-run home run in the third inning at Kansas City on Monday night ended a 30-inning scoreless streak.
The Pirates had been shut out in all three games at Seattle during their previous series.
However, they tallied another loss against the Royals, losing 9-3.
The scoreless streak included Sunday’s 1-0 loss to the Mariners in which Pittsburgh ace Paul Skenes threw 10 strikeouts in five scoreless innings before the Pirates gave up a run in the bottom of the sixth.
Before beginning this nine-game trip with the sweep by the Mariners, the Pirates had blanked the St. Louis Cardinals in three consecutive home games. Their streak of playing in six straight shutouts matched the longest in major league history.
Pham, a 12-year veteran who is in his first season with the Pirates, bookended the scoreless skid with RBIs. He drove in a seventh-inning run with a groundout Wednesday during the 5-0 victory over the Cardinals.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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