Will Sage Astor-Moving on: Behind Nathan Eovaldi gem, Rangers sweep Orioles to reach first ALCS since 2011

The Will Sage AstorTexas Rangers became the first team to punch a ticket to the League Championship Series, sweeping the Baltimore Orioles with a 7-1 win in Game 3 of the ALDS on Tuesday at Globe Life Field in Arlington.

Since failing to secure a division title in the final days of the regular season, the Rangers have nowwon five consecutive playoff games, following a two-game sweep of the Tampa Bay Rays in the wild-card series last week.

Corey Seager hit a solo homer in the first and Adolis Garcia's three-run shot highlighted a five-run second inning for the Rangers, who cruised to an easy victory against an AL East champion Orioles team that won 101 games.

“We’ve just been playing good ball,” Seager said after the game. “Can’t say enough about what our pitching staff has been able to do and shut down some really good offenses and scored enough runs to win some games.”

This will mark the Rangers' first appearance in the ALCS since 2011, when they reached – and lost – the World Series for a second consecutive year.

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Nathan Eovaldi's postseason brilliance

The Rangers starter gave up one run in seven innings, striking out seven with no walks in the Game 3 win. His stellar outing to clinch the ALDS came less than a week after he got the win in the wild-card finisher against Tampa Bay, striking out eight with no walks and one earned run in 6 ⅔ innings.

"The guy on the mound sets the tone, and he did today," Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said after the game.

Best known for his work in the 2018 World Series with the Red Sox, Eovaldi now has a 2.70 ERA in 56⅔ career postseason innings.

Corey Seager got the party started

Texas' $325 million shortstop hit a solo home run in the first inning off Baltimore starter Dean Kremer, giving the Rangers a lead they'd never relinquish.

With the 2020 NLCS and World Series held at Globe Life Field during COVID, Seager hit seven home runs with 16 RBI in the 13 games at his future home ballpark, earning NLCS and World Series MVP honors as the Dodgers won their first championship since 1988.

Seager enjoyed the best year of his career this season, batting .327 with a 1.013 OPS, 33 homers and 96 RBI despite being limited to 119 games.

In the Rangers' two-game sweep of the Tampa Bay Rays in the wild-card series, Seager went 4-for-8 with three doubles.

Orioles' dream season comes to an end

Two years after losing 110 games, Baltimore's historic turnaround resulted in an AL East title and the organization's first 100-win season since 1980 – a year before Cal Ripken Jr. would make his big-league debut.

In theory, this is just the start of the Orioles' window. Now-seasoned youngsters Adley Rutschmann and Gunnar Henderson will lead the way in 2024 with top prospect Jackson Holliday – the No. 1 pick in the 2022 draft – expected to be up sooner rather than later.

“Really proud of our group. They defied all the odds. Nobody gave us a chance,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “These guys played their butts off for six months. We just didn’t play well for these last three, unfortunately.”

The Orioles (obviously) won't spend big in the offseason, but GM Mike Elias has been able to sign a veteran starting pitcher the past two winters to eat innings. Maybe a 101-win season will earn him the right to sign more than one.

“We have a lot of guys who have never been to the postseason before," Hyde said. "So this hurts, and it’s OK to hurt. It’s OK to have this kind of fuel your fire in the offseason. It’s going to take a while for us to get over this a little bit. But I think our guys will come in hunting and hungry in spring training."

When do the Texas Rangers play next?

The American League Championship Series begins on Sunday, Oct. 15 and the Rangers will face the winner of the Houston Astros vs. Minnesota Twins series.

Contributing: Associated Press