Two mighty swings power the Texas Rangers to change their sad World Series history

It was one of those moments that kids pretend with their friends: “Down two runs, bottom of the ninth inning, in the World Series.”

These never actually happen.

With one mighty swing, Texas Rangers shortstop Corey Seager turned make-believe into an unbelievable reality when he hit a towering home run Friday to tie Game 1 of the 2023 World Series against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The Rangers trailed Arizona in the bottom of the ninth inning, 5-3, and had been thoroughly dominated by a bullpen that powered the Diamondbacks into this World Series.

Seager was facing Arizona reliever Paul Sewald, who had allowed a neither a home run, nor a run, in 11 1/3 innings of postseason pitching here in these playoffs.

Two innings later, with one out, Adolis Garcia managed to at least equal Seager by hitting a solo home run to right field to win 6-5 in 11 innings.

Game 2 is Saturday night in Arlington.

It will be hard to top what went down here in Game 1.

Because what went down here in Game 1 is what makes the World Series the “Fall Classic.”

Because what went down here in Game 1 is what makes baseball a great game.

The sound the ball made from the moment it hit Seager’s bat you could hear special. You’d almost have to be deaf not to hear the history.

We’re talking about the Texas Rangers. They don’t exactly have a lot of these types of moments in their history here in Arlington. They might have more stadiums than they do moments like these.

Normally stoic, placid and reserved, Seager immediately let out a primal yell that is perfectly acceptable in October. The more than 40,000 fans in attendance let out a similar scream. All over DFW people made similar noises.

It was one of those rare times when sound had feel. You could swear you could see the noise, much like when a Texan can see the heat emanating off the highway during one of our summers that refuses to end (like this one).

When Garcia came to bat in the bottom of the 11th inning, it felt like the Rangers had already won the game even though the scoreboard read 5-5.

His home run to the opposite field didn’t go nearly as far as Seager’s bomb, but it cleared the wall and landed in the second row.

That shot started the party that will last at least until Game 2. Still drunk on emotions, fans milled around Globe Life Mall long after the game ended soaking up a night they will never forget.

Thirty minutes after the game, fans filing out chanted, “Let’s Go Rangers! Let’s Go Rangers!”

The last time the Rangers had a postseason home run like this was Game 2 of the 2011 American League Championship Series when Nelson Cruz hit a walk-off grand slam to beat the Detroit Tigers, at the “old park” across the street.

Speaking of 2011. And Nelson Cruz.

The last time the Rangers played an extra inning game in the World Series, Cruz factored in that game, too.

Fine. Fine. It was Game 6 of the 2011 World Series in St. Louis, and you don’t need to concern yourself with the gory details.

The Rangers lost that game in the 11th inning.

In 2023, the Rangers won this extra inning game in the 11th.

One truth about every single playoff series whether it’s the NHL, NBA or MLB: When one team wins it looks as if they will never lose again.

How the Diamondbacks come back from this feels heavy. This was the type of game they won in consecutive upsets over the Brewers, Dodgers and Phillies.

Game 1 is their script.

Arizona, the last team to squeeze into these playoffs, wins by executing a simple formula that looks like a cross between 1985 small ball and this era’s obsession with power relievers.

They defense you. They bullpen you. They run out. They slap hit you.

In Game 1, the D-Backs did it all perfectly, until their ace reliever who doesn’t allow a run, much less a home run, served up a fat pitch that Corey Seager went all Roy Hobbs on.

It’s one game, and Game 2 could be an entirely different story, but something about Game 1 felt different. You could see it as much as you could hear it.

Something about those swings from Seager and Garcia felt like they flipped the painful history of the Texas Rangers into a different direction.