Marcus Semien Unloads Postseason Worth of Frustration, Leads Texas Rangers to Brink of World Series title

Marcus Semien had a two-run triple and three-run home run to help the Texas Rangers rout the Arizona Diamondbacks in Game 4 of the World Series on Tuesday.

PHOENIX — Marcus Semien has stayed cool, calm and collected.

No matter how long his hitting slump stretched into the postseason, the Texas Rangers All-Star second baseman never let it bother him.

His patience and trust in the process were finally rewarded in Game 4 of the World Series Tuesday night at Chase Field.

Semien drove in five runs to help lead the Rangers to an 11-7 rout over the Arizona Diamondbacks and a massive 3-1 edge in the best-of-seven World Series.

Game 5 is set for 7:03 p.m. (CT) Wednesday at Chase Field in Phoenix. With a win, the Rangers would claim their first-ever World Series title.

“It’ll be awesome,” shortstop Corey Seager said. “Any time you can put yourself in this position, it’s where you want to be. For this team, this organization, it would be a big one for us.”

Marcus Semien has 5 RBI in 3 innings! #WorldSeries pic.twitter.com/DXP5K8BvYW

— MLB (@MLB) November 1, 2023

For Semien, the postseason has been a tough slog. He's remained the club's leadoff hitter despite a batting average below .200 and only three RBI in his previous 15 games. He topped that with a two-run triple during a five-run second and added a three-run home run during a five-run third as Texas stunned the partisan crowd and the D-backs dugout

Semien, one-half of the cornerstone $500 million free agent signings in December 2020, along with Seager, led the American League in hits and was fourth in RBI during the regular season. But his bat has been mostly silent during the club's postseason run.

He had shown signs of coming out of it and carried a five-game hit streak into Tuesday's Game 4. Driving in runs remained hard to come by, however, and had driven in one run since Game 2 of the ALDS against the Baltimore Orioles.

That lone RBI came in Monday's Game 3 ahead of Seager's two-run homer in the third. The same scenario played out again on Tuesday. After Semien's two-run triple to the left-field corner, Seager followed with a mammoth, two-run, 431-foot homer to give Texas a 5-0 lead.

The Rangers are the first team in World Series history to score five or more runs in consecutive innings. Texas also became the first team to win 10 consecutive road games in the postseason.

The D-Backs scored four runs on four hits in the eighth, including Lourdes Gurriel's three-run homer to pull within 11-5. They added two more in the ninth.

Corey Seager drilled a three-run homer to cap a five-run second inning for the Rangers in Game 4 of the World Series / © Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports

World Series Game 4: Rangers 11, Diamondbacks 7

Key takeaways from Game 4 at Chase Field in Phoenix:

Rangers Cycle

The Rangers hit for the cycle during a five-run second inning Tuesday. They're the first team to do that in a World Series game since the 1991 Atlanta Braves. In the second, Josh Jung doubled, Leody Taveras walked, Travis Jankowski singled, Marcus Semien tripled, and Corey Seager homered.

Postseason Homer History

Corey Seager's second-inning home run Tuesday is his 19th career postseason home run. He's tied for the sixth-most postseason homers with Alex Bregman, Albert Pujols and George Springer. His 19 homers are the second-most by a left-handed better in postseason history. He's one shy of Kyle Schwarber (20), and one ahead of Reggie Jackson (18).

The Rangers also set a record with 15 consecutive postseason games with a homer.

More Corey History

Corey Seager became the second shortstop to homer in consecutive World Series games with his second-inning two-run home run. He joins Hall of Famer Derek Jeter, who did it in Games 4-5 in 2000. Seager is the first shortstop with three homers in a single World Series.

Rangers Run-Rule Limit

The Rangers scored a franchise-high 11 runs in a World Series game Tuesday. The previous high was nine runs in Game 6 at St. Louis in 2011. The Rangers scored a total of 12 runs in five World Series games in 2010, the club's first Fall Classic appearance.

Up Next

Rangers right-hander Nathan Eovaldi is likely to start opposite right-hander Zac Gallen (2-2, 5.27) in Game 5 at 7:03 p.m. Wednesday at Chase Field. If a Game 6 is necessary, it will be Friday at Globe Life Field in Arlington.

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You can follow Stefan Stevenson on Twitter @StefanVersusTex.

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