Rangers complete sweep of Orioles, reach first ALCS since 2011 - ESPN

ARLINGTON, Texas — Corey Seager and Adolis García homered early, Nathan Eovaldi struck out seven over seven innings in another series-clinching start and the Texas Rangers completed an AL Division Series sweep of the Baltimore Orioles with a 7-1 victory Tuesday night.

The Rangers, whose loss at Seattle on the last day of the regular season made them a wild-card team instead of the AL West champion, have since won all five of their postseason games. They are going to the American League Championship Series for the first time since 2011.

«We've just been playing good ball,» Seager said. «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.»

The AL East champion Orioles, who won an AL-high 101 games, were the only team in baseball to not get swept in a series during the regular season, but are now done after a sweep at the most inopportune time. The Orioles are the second team in MLB history to go a non-shortened regular season without being swept and then get swept in the playoffs. The 1998 Padres were swept by the Yankees in the World Series.

Baltimore has lost eight playoff games in a row over the past 10 seasons.

«We were supposed to win 76 games. Won 101, won the American League East. Really proud of our group. They defied all the odds. Nobody gave us a chance,» Baltimore manager Brandon Hyde said. «These guys played their butts off for six months. We just didn't play well for these last three, unfortunately.»

It was the first Rangers playoff game at Globe Life Field, the stadium that was brand new in 2020 when it hosted much of MLB's neutral postseason during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Los Angeles Dodgers spent most of that