SURPRISE, Ariz. — The last time Marcus Semien stepped up to the plate against the Arizona Diamondbacks, he hit a ninth-inning, two-run home run that put an exclamation point on the Texas Rangers' Game 5 World Series championship-clinching win.
On the first pitch against the D-Backs at Salt River Fields in Scottsdale on Tuesday, the Rangers second baseman ripped a homer to left field.
And those memories from 118 days ago at Chase Field in Phoenix came rushing back.
Semiem, 33, is 2 for 5 with a homer in three spring games. He also popped out to short in the second and walked and scored a run in the fourth inning on Tuesday.
"I think that the way our offense carried us in the first half [in 2023], we're going to have to continue that," Semien said early in camp. "I think the pitching, the way they came out at the end of the year, we expect them to be that [way] at the beginning, and having those two things together, I think you're going to see a lot more wins. We put up eight runs a lot last year. If you have [pitchers] who can shut it down at the end."
Semien, who was a Silver Slugger and All-Star for the second time in his career in 2023, is preparing for his 12th MLB season and third with the Rangers.
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