World Series Game 4 takeaways: Rangers on the verge of first championship
The Texas Rangers are just one win away from winning their first World Series title in franchise history thanks to their 11-7 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks in Game 4 of the World Series on Tuesday night.
Here are three takeaways from their win.
1. Rangers remain road warriors
One of the biggest factors in the Rangers' run toward a championship is the fact they have been unbeatable away from home.
Quite literally.
With Tuesday's win, the Rangers improved their record to a perfect 10-0 on the road this postseason, outscoring their opponents by an incredible 66-27 margin in the process.
They have needed to be dominant on the road given that they did not have home-field advantage in any postseason series until they made it to the World Series.
It has also not been an easy path.
They swept a 99-win Tampa Bay team in two games in the wild-card round, swept a 101-win Baltimore Orioles team in the ALDS (with two wins being on the road), and then knocked off the reigning World Series champion Houston Astros in the ALCS, winning all four road games in the series, including Games 6 and 7.
Now they have delivered an emphatic statement in the World Series.
It would only be fitting for them to clinch their first championship on the road in Game 5 on Wednesday night given how dominant they have been on the road this postseason.
2. The Rangers keep clubbing home runs at historic pace
Even without the presence of Adolis Garcia on Tuesday night, the Rangers still managed to keep hitting the ball out of the ballpark.
Thanks to long balls from Marcus Semien, Corey Seager and Jonah Heim, the Rangers were able to add to a Major League Baseball record by homering in 15 consecutive playoff games.
Seager's two-run home run in the second inning, his third home run of the series made it 15 straight.
Garcia has been the star of the postseason for the Rangers with his eight home runs and 22 RBI, but their lineup is far more than just him when it comes to home run power.
It needs to be now that Garcia is done for the remainder of the World Series.
3. Do the Diamondbacks have one more run in them?
Given the way the past two games have gone for the Diamondbacks, as well as the fact they are facing a 3-1 series deficit, it would be pretty easy to count them out in this series.
But they have been counted out all year and keep finding ways to exceed expectations and refuse to go away.
Nobody expected them to be in the playoffs this year after losing 88 games a year ago and 110 games two years ago.
When they sneaked in with 84 wins, nobody expected them to be able to do anything in a loaded National League field that boasted the Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Dodgers as the heavy favorites. Heck, they were barely given a chance against a 92-win Milwaukee Brewers team.
But then they won five straight games to sweep both the Brewers and Dodgers, and then overcame an early 2-0 deficit against the Phillies to win the NLCS in seven games.
They need one more seemingly impossible run to claim their second World Series championship. If it is going to happen, it is going to have to start on Wednesday night when they send their ace, Zac Gallen, to the mound facing elimination. He has yet to put together a signature performance this postseason, and there would be no bigger time for him to do it than on Wednesday night with his team facing elimination.
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