Championship Series' Day 9: Dragon Slayed

 

It was as if Shakespeare himself wrote it. A team that had made their name on double-digit run scoring that had been shunned from 1st by a corrupt rival eliminates the rival from competition in a double-digit win. In Houston.

This is the kind of Inigo Montoya ending I'd wanted from the Rangers all year. This was their season, and their flag to hoist, and for the Astros to creep in at the end and just claim the season as theirs despite doing half the work was kinda shitty. The Astros didn't have the team they had last year, and just came into some September/October momentum like usual. The Rangers had the mega-team, they just had some slow spots in the second half.

Last night, the Rangers used what had always worked for them, namely that powerful lineup, to silence the Astros. In a matchup that had killed the Rangers before, they got to Cristian Javier early and let Max Scherzer work amicably, only giving up a few early runs that were nothing compared to what Adolis Garcia got up to. By midway through, even if the Astros had come back from worse, it was a foregone conclusion: the Rangers were going back to the World Series for the first time since 2011.

The only thing is that after finally getting the revenge they wanted against the Astros, I worry that the Rangers don't have much left to prove this season. A ring would be nice, but it feels like everything was building to this point, and everything after is just extra. It's fittingly like Inigo Montoya at the end of that movie, not knowing what to do with himself after accomplishing what he'd always meant to.

The Rangers only needed two seasons of Bochy-ball to become a contender, and they could win the franchise's first title. They'll just need to get past either one of these streaky-ass NL teams to do so.

The 2023 Houston Astros. What else can you say? 

I mean, at least they had the decency to shut the door behind them this time. 

...oh yeah, and the D-Backs won last night too. The October magic on Aaron Nola wore off, and these guys just got past us at almost every point. Corbin Carroll, Lourdes Gurriel, Geraldo Perdomo and Alek Thomas are some pretty fine ballplayers, and they've been making it tough for us this series. Merrill Kelly was also pretty tremendous, and had the exact kind of performance his team needed.

Tonight will decide my rooting interest. I'd like to see my hometown team win it. If not, let's go Texas I suppose.