Again- this could be my last series summary of the 2023 season, especially if the Astros fail to advance in the 2023 Playoffs. More than just a Silver Boot series, this is for the chance to represent the American League in the 2023 World Series. The two teams do not have to leave the state to settle this one. Puns aside, this is a Texas-size Texas showdown. Might as well be the Texas State Championship.
* HOU Astros vs. TEX Rangers - American League Championship Series (best-of-7)
[GAME 1: TEX at HOU] The first team to score was the Texas Rangers. An RBI brought home a Ranger to put the Texas Rangers up 1-0 in the Top of the 2nd. Leody Taveras banged a solo home run in the Top of the 5th to put Texas up 2-0. Home hasn't been sweet home for the Astros this season, and that futility is taking form tonight. Both Justin Verlander (HOU) and Jordan Montgomery (TEX) each went more than six innings pitched. The Texas Rangers start this all-Texas ALCS strong with a 2-0 victory in Game 1.
[GAME 2: TEX at HOU] After a rough ending for the Astros after Game 1, Game 2 started just as bad for Houston. An error by the Astros in the Top of the 1st led to a Ranger crossing home plate for an early 1-0 advantage. Astros seem to be unraveling as they now trail 2-0 after a base hit by Texas. Another base hit afterwards brought home another Ranger. 3-0... with NOBODY OUT in the Top of the 1st. Are you kidding me? The Top of the 1st ended up with a 4-0 lead for the Rangers- an error and 3 RBI hits by Texas. Houston finally woke the heck up as Yordan Alvarez hit a solo bomb to right in the Bottom of the 2nd. Astros now trail 4-1 as they scored their first run of the 2023 ALCS. Jonah Heim bombs a solo homer to left in the Top of the 3rd to extend the Rangers' lead to 5-1 in the Top of the 3rd. Framber Valdez only finished two innings before he was pulled. Alex Bregman bombs a Breggy Bomb to deep left to get the second Astros' run of the game. Texas' lead was truncated to 5-2 now in the Bottom of the 4th. Houston scored on an RBI double in the Bottom of the 6th to bring the Rangers' lead down to 5-3. The Astros have never led or tied at all so far in the 2023 ALCS. Yordan Alvarez have Houston a little more hope as he hit a solo homer off of Aroldis Chapman in the Bottom of the 8th. It's now 5-4, Rangers. Can the Astros finally tie or lead? Game 2 ends in a 5-4 victory for the Texas Rangers. The Astros' rally failed and are now facing a 0-2 deficit. The run may finally be over for the Astros as they can't figure out the Rangers.
[GAME 3: HOU at TEX] Houston has been better on the road than at home, and the Rangers have done very well at home. So something has to give in this one. This Wednesday of baseball started off with the Houston Astros stealing home with the bases loaded in the Top of the 2nd. It's Houston's first lead of the 2023 ALCS. Martin Maldonaldo drove in two more runs to give the Astros a 3-0 advantage. Texas is dangerous at home, so Houston knows to jump on the Rangers early. Speaking of jumping on, the "Little Giant," José Altuve bombs a solo jack to left in the Top of the 3rd to put Houston up 4-0. Altuve is now four homers away from tying Manny Ramirez for most postseason homers all-time (Altuve has 25 at present). Houston's "Honduran Hammer," Mauricio Dubon, hammered an RBI single in the Top of the 4th to put Houston up 5-0. Texas finally lit up their side of the scoreboard in the Bottom of the 5th thanks to a two-run homer to right by Josh Jung. The Astros' lead went from 5-0 to 5-2 on that Texas thunderbolt. A bases loaded RBI brought home two Astros in the Top of the 7th. Seventh inning, 7-2 Astros lead. Texas cut into that lead in the Bottom of the 7th as Josh Jung banged another two-run jack. This time, to right. Astros lead cut down to 7-4 now. Astros respond proper in the Top of the 8th with a series of no-out hits leading to an 8-4 Astros lead. Texas knocks in an RBI in the Bottom of the 8th to bring the Astros' lead down to 8-5. That was the final score as we are now assured a Game 5 of the 2023 ALCS. Houston wins 8-5. Christian Javier gets the win and a save from Ryan Pressly. Max Scherzer did a heck of a job in his return, but he took the loss for Texas.
[GAME 4: HOU at TEX] The roof was open at Globe Life Park for this game. Houston struck first in the Top of the 1st on an RBI triple that brought in two runs and with nobody out. The Astros went up 2-0 early. Make that 3-0 early as Yordan Alvarez smacks in a base hit. The Rangers fans had something to cheer for as "El Bombi," Adolis Garcia, hit a solo homer to deep left to cut the Astros' lead to 3-1 in the Bottom of the 2nd. Texas scored again that same inning on a sacrifice fly. 3-2 Astros. Corey Seager tied up the game at 3-3 with a solo homer in the Bottom of the 3rd. The Rangers have woken up after a slow start to this game. Yordan Alvarez almost had a Grand Slam in the Top of the 4th, but had to settle for a sacrifice fly. Houston still went back in front, now by a score of 4-3. José Abreu had liftoff launching a three-run jack to left. Houston now is up 7-3 that same inning. Chas McCormick of the Houston Astros bombs a two-run shot to left to put the Astros up 9-3 in the Top of the 7th. An RBI by Yordan Alvarez brought home José Altuve to make it a 10-3 Astros lead in the Top of the 8th. That was the final score- 10-3. Houston with seven unanswered runs in Game 4 to tie the 2023 ALCS at 2-2. Game 5 will be critical in providing the psychological advantage. Oh... and be wary of the 10+ run curse that sometimes haunts the Astros...
[GAME 5: HOU at TEX] Friday afternoon baseball coming right up with Justin Verlander (HOU) vs. Nathan Eovaldi (TEX). This is the fourth-ever postseason game where the home team has never led at any point after four games in a series. The Game 5 winner of a 2-2 tied series has won the series about 70% of the time. Alex Bregman got the party started with a "Breggy Bomb" to left, putting Houston up 1-0 in the Top of the 1st. This was after it seemed like the first inning would breeze by quickly. Nathaniel Lowe tied the game in the Bottom of the 5th on a solo homer to left. Astros and Rangers now level at 1-1 as the Rangers snapped a 10-inning scoreless streak. Jose Abreu knocks in an RBI on what should have been a double play for the Rangers. Astros retook the lead in the Top of the 6th at 2-1. Texas rips a three-run shot to put Texas up 4-2 in the Bottom of the 6th. First lead by either home team now. Relief pitcher Bryan Abreu plunked Adolis Garcia. A scuffle broke out in the Bottom of the 8th with the Astros down by two, and a number of players from both teams got ejected. Jose Altuve bombs one to left in Top of the 9th to give the Astros a 5-4 lead and temporarily silence the crowd in Arlington. Tensions higher than ever on both sides. Back-to-back singles gave the Rangers hope in the Bottom of the 9th, but the Astros held serve to take a 3-2 lead returning to Houston. At this point, the Houston Astros will have to learn to win at home, and they have two chances to get a win. Houston sweeps at the Texas Rangers in the 2023 ALCS. Ryan Pressly picked up the win for Houston, and LeClerc took the loss for Texas.
[GAME 6: TEX at HOU] Game 6 was played in Houston on a Sunday night, and it was Framber Valdez (HOU) vs. Nathan Eovaldi (TEX) the pitching match. Houston scored first on a nicely-hit RBI by Yordan Alvarez. In the Bottom of the 1st, it's 1-0 early for Houston thanks to "Air Yordan." Mitch Garver bangs a solo homer to right on the very first pitch of the Top of the 2nd. Tied at 1-1 after that Texas thunderbolt, and no further Rangers damage was done that half inning. Kyle Tucker thought he robbed Texas of a two-run homer, but he failed. The Rangers go ahead 3-1 in the Top of the 4th after Jonah Heim's two-run shot to right. Remember the Away team has won every game in this series so far. If Texas keeps this up, we're going to Game 7 tomorrow with Houston's home-winning futility continuing. Houston got a little closer but still trails as Mauricio Dubon brought home a run on a Sacrifice Fly in the Bottom of the 6th. Texas' lead is now 3-2. Mitch Garver brought home a Ranger to extend their lead to 4-2 in the Top of the 8th. Now the Astros are looking at Game 7 tomorrow if they fail to at least tie the game. With the bases loaded, a Ranger gets hit by a pitch to put Texas up 5-2 in the Top of the 9th with nobody out. Texas hits a Grand Slam off the bat of Adolis Garcia (remember him?) in the Top of the 9th to basically seal the deal. Houston had its ninth inning magic last game at Texas; Texas has theirs in Houston. We've gone six games in this 2023 ALCS, and now, Game 7 tomorrow to determine who's going to the 2023 World Series.
[GAME 7: TEX at HOU] The 2023 ALCS is looking like the 2019 World Series, where the Away team won every game. If that holds, Houston may be WATCHING the 2023 World Series instead of PLAYING in the 2023 World Series. Let's get it! Already looking bad for Houston as Corey Seager hit a solo homer to right off of Christian Javier. It's an early 1-0 lead for the Texas Rangers. A deep RBI off the wall to left sends another Ranger home that same inning for a 2-0 advantage. The more powerful, more talented team is currently closing in on ending the Astros' season. A failed attempt to catch a fly ball ends up in Texas scoring a 3rd run in the 1st inning. Christian Javier was immediately taken out of the game to be replaced by Phil Maton. Houston gets on the board with an RBI single in the Bottom of the 1st. The Rangers lead got shrunken to 3-1 thanks to José Abreu's RBI, but no further Astros damage happened that inning. "El Bombi" (Adolis Garcia) hits a solo homer in the Top of the 3rd to deep right extend Texas' lead to 4-1. Alex Bregman launched a Breggy Bomb to left-center in the Bottom of the 3rd. Now the Texas lead is truncated to 4-2. A ball was called fair dribbling along the right field line, bringing home two Rangers with the bases loaded in the Top of the 4th. Rangers lead 6-2 as the Astros just keep getting stymied playing damage control. The madness continued as Adolis Garcia brought home two more runs to make it 8-2. "Ready2Reign" for the vulnerable Astros looking more "TakeItBack" for next season. I took my shower after the Rangers went up 8-2 and stopped watching the broadcast afterwards. I checked in later, and it was 11-3, Texas in the Bottom of the 8th. José Altuve hits an inconsequential solo home run in the Bottom of the 9th on the first pitch of this half inning. It is Altuve's 27th homer in his postseason career, two away from tying Miguel Cabrera for most all-time. Astros going out fighting, now down 11-4 trying to score eight or more runs to save their 2023 season. The final result of Game 7: 11-4, Rangers.
--- REVIEW ---
GM1 TEX at HOU: (2-0; Texas)
GM2 TEX at HOU: (5-4; Texas)
GM3 HOU at TEX: (8-5; Houston)
GM4 HOU at TEX: (10-3; Houston)
GM5 HOU at TEX: (5-4; Houston)
GM6 TEX at HOU: (9-2; Texas)
GM7 TEX at HOU: (11-4; Texas)
UP NEXT: 2024 Spring Training.
For the Astros to do what they did and still make it this far is commendable in its own right. All the futility eventually caught up to the Astros and got dumped right in their faces. I'm more stunned as to the Astros winning the AL West more than making the Playoffs. Make all the jokes about trash cans, cheating, "asterisks," and what not- the Houston Astros still did a damn good job of even staying relevant and competitive despite all the Hell they've been through in 2023. Sadly, an epic comeback was not meant to be this season. And if they did make the World Series, they could have been at a huge disadvantage as to whomever won the NLCS. I'm proud of my team regardless no matter what anyone thinks. I guess I'll be following my Texans and Rockets (and even Houston Dynamo FC) now...
Elsewhere, the Arizona Diamondbacks forced a Game 7 in their NLCS match, so the Rangers will have to wait and see whom they will be facing in the 2023 World Series. Congratulations to the eventual World Series champions this season!
[OMISSION] According to multiple sources, Johnnie "Dusty" Baker is contemplating retirement. The 74-year old accomplished a whole lot. I wish him well in his retirement if he does indeed officially step down. So I have to wonder who the Houston Astros will look to for a new coach if this materializes. I kind of think this is a good move because Dusty Baker made some poor moves in benching players and things like that. Maybe the next coach will make better decisions in clutch situations. And for goodness sakes, I hope the Astros learn how to win at home after this pathetic season at home!
