Jose Altuve crushed a go-ahead 3-run home run in the top of the 9th inning to carry the Houston Astros to a 5-4 win over the Texas Rangers. Houston has overtaken Texas in the ALCS after their Game 5 victory, making the series 3-2 in favour of H-Town. Games 6 and 7 will be brought back to Minute Maid Park. The Texas Rangers won both of the first two ALCS contests in the Astros’ house, so perhaps they can continue that success and win the series in 7 games.
W: Ryan Pressly (1-0) L: Jose Leclerc (0-1)
Justin Verlander, Astros:
Verlander’s outing Friday night wasn’t exactly what he was planning for. Verlander’s swing-and-miss stuff was nearly non-existent Friday night, with the 40-year-old registering only 3 punchouts over his 5.2 innings of work.
Verlander started off his outing efficiently, retiring the first 7 hitters he faced and striking out two batters. He ran into a bit of a problem in the bottom of the third inning, with the Rangers having runners on the corners with 1 out. The veteran righty was able to get Marcus Semien to pop out to first base and Corey Seager to line out to left to escape the jam.
Verlander finished his night yielding 4 earned runs, striking out only 3 batters and letting up 6 hits. Verlander usually doesn’t give up many dingers, so seeing him give up 2 in his outing Friday night was rather unexpected. The righty was tied-13th in the 2023 regular season in HR/9 at 1.0. It was nice to see JV improve in terms of command, as he had only one walk given up in Game 5, in comparison to the 3 he yielded in his first postseason start this October. In a rotation that has been filled with question marks, Verlander has been the key piece that Houston has relied on.
Jordan Montgomery, Rangers:
Like Justin Verlander, Jordan Montgomery didn’t have many strikeouts throughout his outing. However, Montgomery was able to limit Houston to only 2 earned runs on 5 hits and 2 walks. Montgomery continues to be the Rangers’ postseason ace with a 2.38 ERA during the 2023 playoffs.
Montgomery’s outing began rather poorly, with Houston’s third baseman Alex Bregman hitting a homer off the lefty in the first inning. Montgomery quickly rebounded, though, as he would retire 9 straight Astros from the second frame to the fourth frame. The 5th and 6th innings were much worse for the southpaw. In the 5th frame, the Astros had two men on with 1 out through a single and a fielding error by Marcus Semien, but Montgomery was able to get out of the jam.
The 6th inning was even worse. Houston had runners on the corners with 1 out. Jose Abreu crushed a one-hopper to shortstop that ate up Corey Seager. The ball deflected off of Seager’s arm and into centre field, resulting in Houston tallying another run to make the score 2-1 for the Astros. Montgomery was pulled in the sixth inning after walking Kyle Tucker, which was an unideal way to cap off his outing.
Offensive Breakdown, Astros:
The Houston Astros’ offence was inconsistent throughout the night. They were able to get men on base, but the issue was driving those runners in. Through 8 innings, the Astros only had 2 runs scored. It was ugly for Houston, as they finished leaving 17 (!!!) runners on base. However, they got the clutch hit when they needed it most, and that proved to be enough to seal the win.
Houston began Game 5 ideally. They got off to an early 1-0 lead by way of a 416 FT Alex Bregman home run to take the early 1-0 lead. After Texas got on the board, Houston responded with a Jose Abreu RBI single in the bottom of the sixth to regain the lead 2-1. While Houston’s offence began to stale out, that top of the 9th inning was one for the ages.
Texas went to 29-year-old closer Jose Leclerc to try and close out the 4-2 game in favour of the Rangers. The 9th inning began with a Yainier Diaz single and a walk to veteran Jon Singleton. Jose Altuve came up as the go-ahead run. Altuve has had a long history of clutch postseason, including the walk-off homer he hit off Aroldis Chapman in 2019 in Game 6 of the ALCS, which sent Houston to the World Series. Altuve received an 89.8 MPH changeup from Leclerc on the inner half and the Astros’ second baseman crushed it for a go-ahead home run. This one swing increased Houston’s win-probability by 58.1%.
In the end, Altuve and the Astros got the timely hits they needed and took advantage of the Rangers’ shaky bullpen.
Offensive Breakdown, Rangers:
The Rangers had similar issues regarding leaving men on base. They finished Game 5 leaving 18 men on base. There were many opportunities for Texas, especially in the 8th and 9th frames.
Texas’ struggles at home continued, to which they’ve averaged only 4 runs per game at Globe Life Field during Games 3-5.
Texas couldn’t get anything going against Justin Verlander in the first four innings. In the 5th frame, Nathaniel Lowe crushed an opposite field homer. This was just impressive hitting from Lowe. The Rangers’ first baseman was able to get the barrel to a 95 MPH fastball on the outside corner and smash it into the bleachers in left field.
Fast forward to the 6th frame, to which Texas was down 2-1. The inning began poorly with second baseman Marcus Semien popping out to Jeremy Pena. However, Corey Seager and Evan Carter got on with two base hits of their own. Adolis Garcia came up with the go-ahead run on base. Verlander hurled a first-pitch 95 MPH fastball on the inner half of the plate. Garcia got his bat to the four-seamer and pounded a homer to left-centre field. This single swing increased Texas’ win-probability by 33.4%.
In the bottom of the 9th inning, Texas was down 5-4 due to the Altuve dinger. However, Mitch Garver and Jonah Heim began the inning with back-to-back singles. Marcus Semien came up to the dish and he roped a line drive straight to a Grae Kessinger, who made an impressive leaping catch. Corey Seager stepped up to the plate, looking to drive in the game-tying run. Seager crushed a deep fly ball to centre field, but it hung up for Mauricio Dubon. The Rangers were down to their final out, and it was rookie phenom Evan Carter. Ryan Pressly, the Astros’ closer, got Carter swinging on a slider down in the zone to conclude the contest.
The Rangers were dominated at home, but they’ve had plenty of success in Minute Maid Park during the ALCS. Texas gets to play in Houston’s house for Game 6, hoping to stay alive in the series.
Top Performers, Astros:
Jose Altuve (2B) – 1-5, Run, HR, 3 RBI
Alex Bregman (3B) – 1-4, 2 Runs, HR, RBI, BB
Yordan Alvarez (DH) – 2-5
Kyle Tucker (RF) – 2-3, BB
Ryan Pressly (CP) – 2.0 IP, 2 Hits, 3 K’s
Top Performers, Rangers:
Evan Carter (LF) – 1-4, Run, BB
Adolis Garcia (RF) – 1-3, Run, HR, 3 RBI
Nate Lowe (1B) – 1-3, Run, HR, RBI, BB
Jordan Montgomery (SP) – 5.1 IP, 5 Hits, 2 ER, 3 K’s, 2 BB
Josh Sborz (RP) – 1.2 IP, 2 K’s, BB
Game 6 of the ALCS goes Sunday, October 22 at 8:03 PM EST. Nathan Eovaldi takes the ball for the Rangers, looking to continue his postseason success. Framber Valdez takes the mound for Houston, looking to rebound from his early postseason struggles. Texas will have to return to form from Games 1 and 2 to win the ALCS.
(AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)