Josh Sborz had the weight of Texas Rangers’ history on his back.

With the Rangers one strike away from capturing their first World Series title in the team’s 63-year history, the 29-year-old pitcher took the mound against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

In Game 5 of the Rangers-Diamondbacks series, Sborz approached the mound in the 9th inning with a comfortable Rangers’ 5-0 lead.

It was pitcher José Leclerc who had received the call, so he was not sure if he would stay on the mound to finish the game.

“I was just honestly trying to let the guy [Ketel Marte] hit the ball. There was no intention to strike him out. Sborz exclusively told NBC that it was just an attempt to end the game.

“I completely believed that our closer would take the ninth because he had closed out every game we had won, so I had no idea or thought that I was going to finish the game.”

Sborz threw the final 2 1/3 innings of Game 5, something he hadn’t done in his career, to clinch the Rangers’ first World Series title with a 4-1 series win.

As catcher Jonah Heim and the rest of the Rangers team ran in to celebrate the historic achievement, Sborz slammed his glove into the field turf in front of the mound when home plate umpire Brian Knight called strike three on Marte.

“It seemed like it took about thirty seconds to reach Jonah, and even then, it was probably only three seconds,” Sborz chuckled.

“As I was giving Heim a hug, I noticed our 6-foot-6 [Aroldis] Chapman sprinting toward me.

Even though I was terrified that I would be run over, I managed to stay upright.

Caps, helmets, gloves, spikes, jerseys, bats, luggage, and other game-used mementos have been donated by Sborz and other Rangers players to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.

The UVA alum will be turning in the glove he used to record the save in the final game.