The Houston Astros’ offence finally came alive after a disappointing first two games of the ALCS. Houston scored a whopping 8 runs, which was more than enough to seal the 8-5 victory. Second baseman Jose Altuve and right fielder Kyle Tucker finally redeemed themselves after a troublesome beginning to the postseason. During the 2023 regular season, Houston was 6-1 at Globe Life Field. The Astros continued this dominance Wednesday night, slugging their way to a Game 3 win.
W: Cristian Javier (1-0) L: Max Scherzer (0-1) SV: Ryan Pressly (3)
Cristian Javier, Astros:
Cristian Javier continued his postseason dominance Wednesday night, giving up only 2 Earned Runs over 5.2 IP. Although Javier only struck out 3 batters, he remained efficient during the game. Javier may have given up 7 balls with exit velocities above 95 MPH, but his defence made the plays when needed. Javier improved to 2-0 this postseason and has lowered his career postseason ERA to 2.08 after Wednesday night.
Javier’s performance against a top offence in MLB from the regular season may have pushed him ahead of Framber Valdez for the SP2 position in the playoffs.
Max Scherzer, Rangers:
Max Scherzer recently came off the Injured List with a shoulder strain to make this Game 3 start. Unfortunately for the 39-year-old, this start did not go as planned.
Scherzer only went 4.0 innings in his outing Wednesday night, allowing 5 Earned Runs on 5 hits and a walk.
It was a disaster for Scherzer in the second inning, with Yordan Alvarez scoring on a wild pitch that arguably should have been blocked by catcher Jonah Heim. Astros’ catcher Martin Maldonado, who had a .611 OPS in the regular season, hit a 2-run single to extend Houston’s lead to 3-0.
While Texas still holds on to a 2-1 lead going into Game 4, Max Scherzer will have to get settled in quickly, especially coming off his injury. Scherzer, Jordan Montgomery, and Nathan Eovaldi will be the Rangers’ “Big 3” for the rest of the postseason.
Offensive Breakdown, Astros:
The Astros’ offence finally had their break-out performance on offence in the ALCS. It started out in the second inning with Yordan Alvarez scoring on a wild pitch and Martin Maldonado hitting a 2-run single. This gave Houston the early 3-0 lead. Fast forward to the top of the third inning and Jose Altuve gave a 94.6 MPH fastball a ride to left field for his 2nd dinger of the postseason. Altuve would finish 2-5 on the night, increasing his OPS from .472 to .626.
Then, in the fourth inning, centre fielder Mauricio Dubon, who had a solid .722 OPS in the regular season, added on another run through an RBI single to make the score 5-0.
In the sixth inning, Yordan Alvarez came up to the dish, looking for his 7th homer of the postseason. He crushed a slider from Cody Bradford 416 FT to deep centre field. However, Leody Taveras made an unbelievable dinger heist to rob Alvarez of his 7th tater this October.
The Astros piled on 2 more runs during the 7th inning through a 2-run single by Yordan Alvarez. Heading into the 8th inning, the Astros looked to break the game wide open. Shortstop Jeremy Pena accomplished this task by way of an RBI single to give the ‘Stros their eighth run of the ballgame. Houston’s offence finally came alive during Game 3, and it will have to continue this play consistently to outslug the Rangers’ offensive attack.
Offensive Breakdown, Rangers:
The Rangers’ offence wasn’t necessarily poor, per say, but they began cashing in runs way too late in this game. Their first 2 runs came in the fifth inning by way of a Josh Jung 2-run home run. Josh Jung came up with a man on again in the seventh inning, where he crushed his second 2-run dinger of the game. The Rangers’ tallied a run in the bottom of the 8th inning through an Adolis Garcia RBI single, but it simply wasn’t enough.
The Rangers’ lacked consistency up and down the lineup during Game 3. Josh Jung was responsible for cashing in 4 of the Rangers’ 5 runs. When 4 of a team’s runs come from only one player, that team becomes a one-man show. The Rangers’ lineup has to be more consistent from 1 to 9, especially against the Astros’ solid pitching staff (Tied-8th in Runs Allowed Per Game in the regular season).
The issue wasn’t necessarily coming up with big hits for Texas, but rather getting guys into scoring position. Other than Josh Jung, the rest of the Rangers’ lineup registered only 4 hits and 1 walk. Consistency is the name of the game for the Rangers’ success in this ALCS.
Top Performers, Astros:
Jose Altuve (2B) – 2-5, 2 Runs, HR, RBI
Yordan Alvarez (DH) – 2-4. Run, 2 RBI
Mauricio Dubon (CF) – 3-4, Run, RBI
Cristian Javier (SP) – 5.2 IP, 3 Hits, 2 ER, 3 K’s, BB
Top Performers, Rangers:
Adolis Garcia (RF) – 1-4, RBI
Nate Lowe (1B) – 2-4, 2 Runs
Josh Jung (3B) – 2-4, 2 Runs, 2 HR, 4 RBI
Cody Bradford (RP) – 1.1 IP, 0 ER
Game 4 of this battle of the Lone Star State goes Thursday night at 8:03 PM EST. Jose Urquidy, coming off a dazzling performance against Minnesota in the ALDS, will take the hill for Houston. Veteran journey-man Andrew Heaney will get the ball for the Rangers. The Rangers’ offence will have to pounce on Jose Urquidy early and often to get the Game 4 victory.
(AP Photo/Julio Cortez)