Texas Rangers: Road to the World Series

The Texas Rangers will meet the Arizona Diamondbacks in the World Series, which is not something most fans would have predicted before the season started.

The winner of the American League pennant was the Texas Rangers, who earned a spot in the World Series from a seven-game series win over the Houston Astros in the ALCS.

From the National League, the Arizona Diamondbacks have been the upset story of the season, as the Snakes have defied all odds to reach the Fall Classic.

But back to the Rangers, who are -175 to win the World Series, let’s take a look at their journey to showpiece finale and how this matchup came to be.

Rangers roar ahead from the start

The Texas Rangers had one of the most dominant offenses in baseball during the regular season.

That dominance surged the Rangers into first place in the AL West for almost the entirety of the first half of the season.

When the All-Star Game came around, the American League roster was composed of a lot of Texas players.

In fact, there were six of them nominated to the All-Star Game: Adolis Garcia, Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, Josh Jung, Jonah Heim and Nathan Eovaldi.

Things get tougher for Texas

However, the second half of the season wasn’t as smooth. Seager, Garcia, Jung and Eovaldi battled injuries during July and August that kept them sidelined for weeks, and the Rangers' big lead in the AL West began to shrink.

Fast forward to the final week of the regular season and Texas was still given a 99% chance to win the division with one series left.

That percentage shrank when Texas dropped two of the first three games in Seattle and on the final day of the regular season, the divisional title was on the line.

The Rangers controlled their own destiny as a win would seal their fate as division champions, but Texas lost the final game of the season, while the Astros ended their season with a win to give Houston the division title once again.

Because of that, the Rangers now occupied a Wild Card spot and had to face the Tampa Bay Rays in a best-of-three series.

Rangers respond from Wild Card spot

The Rangers had arguably the most difficult draw in the Wild Card. Texas had to travel to Tampa Bay to take on the Rays and the Rangers were listed as the underdog in the series.

However, the Rangers made quick work of the Rays, sweeping Tampa Bay in two games. Their prize? A best-of-five series against the American League-best Baltimore Orioles.

But yet again, the Rangers made quick work of their opponent and swept the Orioles in three games. Seager had become the hero for the Rangers as his on-base percentage was hovering around .500.

But the next test would be the hardest - a best-of-seven series against the reigning champions, the Astros.

Astros ousted in final-game thriller

The series went back and forth and even featured a benches-clearing moment in Game 5 setting the stage for an intense end to the series.

It was in this series that Garcia became a household name beyond Arlington but a villain in Houston. The slugger was hitting home runs left and right and he earned the honor of ALCS MVP.

In Game 7, the Rangers dominated the Astros 11-4 and secured a trip to the World Series.

Between Eovaldi’s pitching, Garcia’s hitting and outfielder Evan Carter’s defense, the Rangers completed another upset to continue their improbable run towards a World Series title.