The Texas Rangers spent the majority of the season leading the AL West, only slipping up in the final few months and conceding the division title to the Houston Astros as a result. This, however, meant that the Rangers, instead of receiving a bye into the ALDS, had to go through the gauntlet that was the AL Wild Card, and now, over a week later, here they are, having booked a trip to the ALCS following an impressive sweep of a Baltimore Orioles team that won 101 games in 2023.

Now awaiting the winner of the Astros and Minnesota Twins matchup on the other side of the bracket, the Rangers have the luxury of rest and more preparation time — but not before manager Bruce Bochy and company celebrate and reflect on what has been such an inspiring effort from the team thus far after wiping the floor with the Tampa Bay Rays and Orioles in back-to-back rounds.

“We had our work cut out going on the road against Tampa and Baltimore. Just shows the toughness with this ballclub and the deal with having to fly to Tampa. Trust me, they wanted to win one more game in the worst way. Didn't happen. … They put it behind them,” Bochy said, per ESPN.

This kind of dominance over their first two postseason opponents only bodes well for the Rangers' chances of progressing even deeper into the playoffs. In 2014, the Kansas City Royals also swept the first two rounds of the playoffs (of course, it was only the Wild Card Game then, not yet a three-game series), and they swept the Orioles in the 2014 ALCS to enter the World Series in an unbeaten playoff streak. Can the Rangers pull that rabbit out of their hats? No one will dare count them out now especially after they slayed two of the best teams in the AL in two lopsided series.

In the end, credit must go to Bruce Bochy for pushing the right buttons and to the Rangers players as well for coming through when the stakes are at their highest — showing that their impressive start to the 2023 season was no mere fluke.