The Battle of the Lone Star State is heading to Game 7.
The Texas Rangers walloped the Houston Astros on Sunday night 9-2 to tie the ALCS 3-3. Texas and starter Nathan Eovaldi held the Astros to only 2 runs of offence, which honestly, wasn’t surprising. Both of these teams have been abysmal at home in the ALCS, with Houston and Texas combining to go 0-6 in their own buildings. With Houston being at home for Game 7, will the Astros break the trend or make the home teams 0-7 in the 2023 ALCS?
W: Nathan Eovaldi (4-0) L: Framber Valdez (0-3)
Nathan Eovaldi, Rangers:
Eovaldi and Jordan Montgomery have been 1A and 1B in the rotation in the postseason. Eovaldi clutched up with the Rangers facing elimination and tossed 6.1 innings of 2-run ball. For a rotation that was looking immensely poor during Games 3 and 4, Eovaldi’s outing was necessary for Texas to stay alive in the postseason. While the swing-and-miss stuff wasn’t as effective this time around, going 6+ frames is impressive, no matter how a pitcher gets to that mark.
Eovaldi was rather efficient, but his command definitely wasn’t all there. During his first 3 starts in the postseason, At least 65% of the pitches he hurled were for strikes. However, during Sunday night’s start, he only threw a strike 57% of the time. This issue contributed to Eovaldi only having 4 strikeouts, while yielding 2 free passes. Don’t expect this every time from Eovaldi simply due to how proficient he was in this category for the first 3 outings. Even when facing this problem, his night was still fantastic.
The 33-year-old veteran will continue to be relied upon if the Rangers make their first World Series since 2011.
Framber Valdez, Astros:
Considering how poor Framber Valdez had been in the postseason, his outing in Game 6 was a breath of fresh air. Valdez went 5.0 innings (most so far this postseason), allowing only 3 earned runs and striking out 6 Rangers.
However, he continues to encounter the issue of keeping the ball in the ballpark. This wasn’t an issue at all during the regular season, as Valdez had a 1.0 HR/9. However, during the postseason, his HR/9 has skyrocketed to 3.0 HR/9. Granted, the sample size is much less substantial for the postseason, but it is a cause for concern in regards to home run issues.
While the dinger problems are still a problem, Valdez had a solid outing overall and it is something to build off of if Houston finds themselves in their third straight World Series.
Offensive Breakdown, Rangers:
THAT’S the explosive offence we were waiting to see.
Texas finally scored more than 5 runs in an ALCS game, and boy did they need it. Texas came into this game trailing 3-2 in the series, and then the offence exploded for 9 runs on 10 hits. The Rangers’ ability to respond to adversity was one of the main reasons why they won this game. When Houston scored, Texas kept up with them right after. Houston scored a run almost immediately in the bottom of the 1st inning, but Texas responded immediately with a Mitch Garver oppo-taco. Jonah Heim crushed a 2-run shot to right field in the fourth inning to give the Rangers the lead 3-1.
The Astros cut into the lead in the sixth inning by scoring a run through a sacrifice fly. This made the score 3-2. Mitch Garver’s night only improved as he came up in the 8th and got that run back through an RBI double, making the score 4-2. After Altuve’s theatrics in Game 5, Texas was definitely not content with only a 2-run lead. The Rangers had the bases loaded for Corey Seager, who got hit by a pitch by Ryne Stanek, making the score 5-2. However, a 3-run lead isn’t enough to be a “comfortable” lead. A batter later, Adolis Garcia stepped up to the dish and he was looking to break the game WIDE open.
Astros’ reliever Ryne Stanek found himself in a 1-1 count against Garcia. He decided to hurl the 3rd straight four-seam fastball in the AB to Garcia, but Garcia was all over it. The young slugger crushed a 110.1 MPH grand slam to left field that extended Texas’ lead to 9-2. Garcia’s 5th bomb of the postseason sealed the Game 6 win and finally gave the Rangers the “comfortable” lead they were looking for.
Offensive Breakdown, Astros:
The Astros simply lacked the consistency from 1-9 in the lineup. Only 3 different hitters (Jose Altuve, Yordan Alvarez, and Jose Abreu) registered hits in Game 6. The Astros also left a whopping 23 (!!!) men on base. The lack of timely hitting killed the Astros’ offence and it’s the reason why they only scored 2 runs.
For the first inning, the Astros’ offence looked relatively solid. Yordan Alvarez continued his phenomenal postseason rampage, registering an RBI single to put the Astros up 1-0. However, the Astros had runners on first and second with 1 out and failed to capitalize after the Alvarez single. Jose Abreu lined out to Corey Seager and Kyle Tucker, who had been better offensively in recent games, struck out to end the frame.
Centre fielder Mauricio Dubon was able to add a run in the sixth to make the score 3-2 for Texas on a sacrifice fly. However, in the bottom of the 8th frame, Houston’s issues with runners in scoring position were brought to the forefront. The Astros started off the inning rather well, having the bases loaded with only one out. Mauricio Dubon came up to bat, looking to keep the line moving. He received an outside cutter and lined it straight to Corey Seager’s glove. Houston needed a substantial hit from veteran slugger Jon Singleton to possibly take the lead.
Singleton worked his way into a full count against Rangers’ closer Jose Leclerc. Singleton was able to fend off a few 97 MPH fastballs from Leclerc, but the young closer got Singleton swinging on a high cutter. Houston definitely had a shot to complete the comeback, but they were unable to capitalize on scoring opportunities. This was their downfall.
Top Performers, Rangers:
Marcus Semien (2B) – 2-3, Run, 2 BB
Adolis Garcia (RF) – 1-5, Run, HR, 4 RBI
Mitch Garver (DH) – 3-4, 2 Runs, HR, 2 RBI
Jonah Heim (C) – 1-5, Run, HR, 2 RBI
Nathan Eovaldi (SP) – 6.1 IP, 5 Hits, 2 ER, 4 K’s, 2 BB
Top Performers, Astros:
Jose Altuve (2B) – 2-5, Run, SB
Yordan Alvarez (DH) – 2-3, Run, RBI,
Jose Abreu (1B) – 2-4
Framber Valdez (SP) – 5.0 IP, 5 Hits, 3 ER, 6 K’s, 2 BB
Game 7 of the ALCS showdown begins on October 23, 2023 at 8:03 PM EST. 39-year-old Max Scherzer will take the mound for Texas, while Cristian Javier will get the ball for Houston. Scherzer will have to rebound from his struggles in Game 3, while Javier will have to continue his dominance to win Houston yet another American League pennant.
(AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)