By Canadian Press

Semien’s 5 RBIs, Seager’s home run lead Rangers over Diamondbacks 11-7 for 3-1 World Series lead

Oct 31, 2023 | 10:11 PM

PHOENIX (AP) — Marcus Semien’s two-run triple and three-run homer powered Texas to a 10-run lead by the third inning, Corey Seager hit another long home run and the Rangers beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 11-7 on Tuesday night to move ahead three games to one in the World Series.

Rangers batters whipped through Diamondbacks pitching like a desert storm, taking a 10-0 lead and becoming the first team in Series history with consecutive five-run innings. Seager’s third two-run homer of the Series capped the second, Semien’s drive punctuated the third and Jonah Heim added an eighth-inning shot.

Texas improved to a record 10-0 on the road this postseason and moved within one win of the first title in the 63-season history of a franchise that started as the expansion Washington Senators in 1961.

Nathan Eovaldi tries to close out the third all-wild card Series on Wednesday night against Zac Gallen in a rematch of Game 1 starters.

Forty-two of 49 previous teams to take 3-1 leads have gone on to win the World Series. The most recent club to overcome a 3-1 deficit was the Chicago Cubs against Cleveland in 2016.

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Texas scored its first 10 runs with two outs, battering an Arizona staff that needed four pitchers to get its first eight outs. Miguel Castro’s wild pitch brought home the first run, and an error by Gold Glove first baseman Christian Walker — the first by either team in the Series — led to five unearned runs in the third.

Seager and Semien, All-Star middle infielders signed as free agents for $500 million combined before the 2022 season, have six RBIs each in the Series. Seager, the first shortstop with three Series homers, has four homers in his last five games dating to the AL Championship Series. After leading the Los Angeles Dodgers to the 2020 title, he could join Sandy Koufax, Bob Gibson and Reggie Jackson as the only two-time World Series MVPs.

Travis Jankowski, replacing injured slugger Adolis García in right field, singled in the second and hit a two-run double in the third in his first Series at-bats.

Andrew Heaney, a 32-year-old lefty with his fifth big league team, got the win by allowing four hits in five innings. Six relievers followed, with closer José Leclerc getting the final out.

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. hit a sacrifice fly in the fourth for Arizona and a three-run homer in the eighth against Chris Stratton. Tommy Pham had a sacrifice fly in the eighth, and Gabriel Moreno had a two-run single in the ninth.

There was a festive mood at Chase Field, where the roof was open for the second straight night. Some fans arrived in Halloween costumes, but many started booing in the second inning.

With both teams short on starting pitching, they each planned to string together bullpen games in what Arizona manager Torey Lovullo termed a “chess match” he looked forward to. For Arizona, it was a gambit that failed.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Ronald Blum, The Associated Press