Postseason Legend Corey Seager Making Texas Rangers History in World Series

The Texas Rangers were on the verge of losing Game 1 of the World Series before Corey Seager tied things up with a ninth-inning homer run against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

 ARLINGTON, Texas – The last thing Texas Rangers shortstop Corey Seager shortstop wants to do is talk about himself.

But after his ninth-inning two-run homer Friday night to tie Game 1 of the World Series, it was a topic not even he could avoid.

“Just excitement obviously,” Seager said of his one-out blast to knot it 5-5. “It’s fun. This is the playoffs. This is kind of what it’s all about. It was a cool moment for sure.”

The moments got cooler when the Rangers won 6-5 over the Arizona Diamondbacks in 11 innings on an Adolis Garcia walkoff homer.

Corey Seager drilled a two-run homer in the ninth inning of the Rangers' 6-5 comeback win over Arizona in Game 1 of the World Series / © Raymond Carlin III-USA TODAY Sports

That was it for Seager talking about himself, but the World Series opener continued his postseason excellence. Seager went 1-for-4, scoring three times and walking twice. Big World Series moments are nothing new for Seager, especially at Globe Life Field. He was the World Series MVP for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2020 when he went 8-for-20 in Arlington.

Seager certainly has had big hits in his outstanding career. And while he isn’t one to talk much about the homer off Arizona closer Paul Sewald, Texas manager Bruce Bochy had no such problems.

“It’s harder to hit a bigger home run than he did there down two in the ninth,” Bochy said. “He saved us there. You could see it in him. He got everybody fired up. It (the game) is right up there at the top. It was a great ballgame.”

The long ball marked just the sixth time in World Series history that a game-tying homer came in the bottom of the ninth inning and the first since Alex Gordon did it for Kansas City in 2015.

Seager’s homer helped make it a great game in the Texas clubhouse. As for the Diamondbacks, it opened them up to second guessing. Manager Torey Lovullo could have chosen to intentionally walk Seager to get to Evan Carter with two runners on and one out, but he opted to have Sewald face him.

The first pitch Sewald threw Seager blasted to right for his fourth homer of the postseason.

“If I was sitting there as a Monday morning quarterback, I’m thinking about it now,” Lovullo said. “I was thinking with a very clear head. We’re going to make pitches. We’ve got our closer in the game. We’re going to march off this field 5-3.”

Seager, a notorious first-pitch hitter, had other plans.

“Those guys are good,” he said. “You never want to just give them a strike. You never know if the one you’re supposed to wait for is the first one so you’ve got to always be ready.”

The Rangers certainly were thankful Seager was ready in the ninth Friday night.

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