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CLEVELAND — And so here we are, on a cool October afternoon at Jacobs Field, where Game 1 of this Division Series felt every bit like the start of something meaningful. And if you’re the Texas Rangers, you walk out of here saying, “Yes… we’ll take that.”
Texas wins it, 6–4, and really, this was a game defined by timely hitting — the kind that swings a postseason series before you even realize what’s happening. Tony Guerrero was the sparkplug all afternoon, three hits, a double, two runs scored, two driven in. Every time Texas needed something, he seemed to be in the middle of it.
But the real turning point? Top of the seventh. Rangers down a run, two on, two out, and Scott McKee — a 25-year-old second baseman who looks like he should still be filling out a college application — lines a two-run single to put Texas ahead for good. One pitch, one swing, and the game flips like a light switch. That’s postseason baseball.
Cleveland had its moments. Ryan Phipps hit a solo shot in the first and drove in another later, and they actually outhit Texas 12 to 11. But you strand a dozen runners in October… well, you don’t usually win that game.
J. Smith went seven gritty innings for Texas — wasn’t dominant, wasn’t perfect, but he was just good enough. T. White shut the door over the final two, and the Rangers walk off with a road win, and with it, a 1–0 lead in this best-of-five.
Game 2, right back here tomorrow. And already you get the feeling: this series might not be long, but it’s absolutely going to be loud.
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