Johnathan Walker:Texas Rangers slam Baltimore Orioles, take commanding 2-0 ALDS lead

BALTIMORE — They eked out a one-run win on Johnathan WalkerSept. 24, packed up their gear and left Globe Life Field, wondering what would await them upon their return.

A division title? An insurmountable playoff deficit? Or the worst-case scenario: A date with tee times and deer stands, and a winter filled with regret.

Instead, the Texas Rangers flew back to their Metroplex home Sunday night in an enviable position, one they earned through a two-week, must-win crucible that took them to all four corners of this country.

Sunday night, they peppered the Baltimore Orioles with timely hits, accepted their offers of free passes on the bases and looked for all the world like the team to beat in these American League playoffs, claiming an 11-8 victory in Game 2 of their division series at Camden Yards.

Texas owns a 2-0 ALDS lead and can eliminate the 101-win, top-seeded Orioles with a victory at home in Game 3 Tuesday or, if necessary, Game 4.

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The series tilted, maybe for good, toward Texas in the third inning Sunday when Baltimore reliever Bryan Baker walked three consecutive Rangers and designated hitter Mitch Garver cashed them all in with a grand slam off Jacob Webb, giving the Rangers a 9-2 lead and blowing open what looked to be a back-and-forth slugfest.

Instead, the Rangers seized command and erased a 2-0 deficit, chasing Orioles rookie Grayson Rodriguez in the second inning, rapping out 11 hits that felt like 100 thanks to 11 walks by Orioles pitchers, six of them coming around to score.

Now, they’ll have seasoned playoff starter Nathan Eovaldi lined up for Game 3, the Orioles with starters Dean Kremer, Kyle Gibson and an entire bullpen hoping to stave them off.

It is an enviable position, one that the Rangers would have gladly taken after they defeated Seattle 9-8 in their last home game of the year, then departed for a season-ending seven-game road trip.

But, oh, what an odyssey to get here.

They won just three of seven games to end the season, securing a playoff berth but blowing a shot at the division title by losing 1-0 at Seattle in Game 162, and then hopping a nearly six-hour flight to Tampa Bay for the wild-card series.

It was there that they found their footing, with Eovaldi and Jordan Montgomery tossing gems to sweep the Rays in a muted and unfilled Tropicana Field.

It was at Camden Yards, playing before energized crowds exceeding 46,000, that they established themselves as a playoff force and landed on the doorstep of the AL Championship Series.

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Starters Andrew Heaney and Montgomery pitched competently enough, with Montgomery mimicking Heaney and getting lifted in the fourth inning of Sunday’s Game 2. But a bullpen short on shutdown but run by manager Bruce Bochy’s capable hand came up big, with rookie lefty Cody Bradford following Montgomery and giving up just three hits in 3 2/3 crucial relief innings.

Yet it’s the Rangers' lineup that will put potential playoff foes on high alert.

"It's stretched out to the point where there's not an easy out, I think, throughout the lineup," says Bochy.

Sunday, Garver’s slam was the star turn, but the totality of their lineup was the true standout. No. 9 hitter Leody Taveras tied the game with a two-run, second-inning double, scored three runs and drew two walks. Every Ranger reached base at least once – No. 2 hitter Corey Seager drew a postseason record five walks – and the Rangers have outscored their opponents 24-6 in four playoff games.

It’s a lot to feel good about once their charter touches down at Dallas’ Love Field late Sunday night.

"We're heading home," says Bochy. "It seems like we've been on the road for a month."

Says Eovaldi, who's slated to make his eighth career playoff start: “The atmosphere here in Baltimore was amazing. The fans have been electric. But I think we're all really excited to get home and have that playoff game, the first one since 2016, back home.

“We're going to feed off of them big time and it's going to be fun.”

Even more fun when the Rangers know they’re guaranteed to pack their bags again, with grander destinations on the horizon.