The Houston Astros and the Texas Rangers recently faced off in the American League Championship Series (ALCS), dubbed the “Lone Star State Showdown,” to determine who would advance to the 2023 World Series.
The series proved an exciting one, with the two teams splitting the first six games. However, the Astros fell short in the decisive game seven as the Rangers’s bats powered the team to an easy 11-4 win. While the loss was disappointing, the team could take pride in having reached the ALCS championship series for the seventh year in a row.
Game one of the series was played at Minute Maid Stadium, with Jordan Montgomery starting for the Rangers and Justin Verlander taking the mound for the Astros. It was the fourteenth time Verlander had started game one of a playoff series — an MLB record.
The Rangers struck first, with Jonah Heim driving in Evan Carter in the second inning to give the Rangers an early 1-0 lead. In the fifth, Rangers CF Leody Taveras hit his first postseason home run, extending the Rangers lead to 2-0.
The Astros’s bats never got going, managing only five hits all game.
Jose Leclerc pitched a scoreless ninth inning to earn the save and secure a 2-0 win for Texas. The Rangers had drawn first blood.
In game two, the Rangers started strong with lead-off hitter Marcus Semien and Corey Seager each hitting the first pitch for a single. Semien would go on to score on a throwing error by the Astros pitcher Framber Valdez, giving the Rangers a 1-0 lead. Following a succession of hits by Adolis Garcia, Mitch Garver, and Nathaniel Lowe, the Rangers scored three more runs to grab an early 4-0 lead.
The Astros struck back in the second inning when Yordan Alvarez hit a solo home run, putting the score at 4-1 in favor of the Rangers.
Heim led off the third inning with a home run to extend the lead to 5-1.
The Astros countered in the fourth, with Alex Bregman hitting a home run off the Chick-fil-A foul pole, cutting the deficit to 5-2.
The Astros battled back, eventually cutting the Rangers’s lead to 5-4, following an Alvarez home run in the eighth. However, they were unable to score again as Leclerc pitched a scoreless ninth inning to pick up his second save. The Rangers had grabbed a 2-0 lead in the series.
Following a travel day, the series resumed at Globe Life Field in Arlington, TX, where the Rangers hoped to take a commanding 3-0 lead, while the Astros hoped to get their first win of the best-of-seven series.
In game three, the Astros seized an early 3-0 lead after Alvarez scored on a wild pitch and Maldonado doubled home two runs. The Astros pushed the lead to 5-0 following a Jose Altuve home run and a Mauricio Dubon single to score Jose Abreu.
In the fifth inning, Josh Jung finally put the Rangers on the board with a two-run home run, bringing the score to 5-2.
In the seventh inning, Alvarez singled to drive in two more runs to put the Astros ahead 7-2. A late-game rally by the Rangers fell short as the Astros held on for an 8-5 victory and their first win of the series.
The Astros got off to a fast start in game four, jumping to a 3-0 lead after just one inning. The Rangers would go on to tie the game in the third inning on a Seager home run. However, the Astros took a commanding 7-3 lead in the fourth inning on a long three-run home run by Abreu. Houston would never look back, easily winning the game 10-3 and knotting the series at 2-2.
In the pivotal game five, the Astros hoped to continue their success at Arlington, while the Rangers looked to salvage at least one win on their home turf. Bregman got the scoring going with a first-inning home run. The Rangers tied the score in the bottom half of the inning with a home run by Lowe.
The Astros retook the lead with a run in the sixth, but the Rangers struck back in the same inning, taking a 4-2 lead after Garcia blasted a three-run home run.
Leclerc came on to save the game in the ninth. But the Astros had other plans. With runners on first and second, Altuve crushed Leclerc’s second pitch into the left field seats to push Houston ahead, 5-4. Ryan Pressley closed out the game, giving the Astros a thrilling come-from-behind victory and a 3-2 series lead.
Game six resumed in Houston, with the Astros looking to close out the series in front of their loyal fans. Riding a three-game winning streak, Houston seemed poised to return to the World Series.
The Astros grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first after Alvarez batted in Altuve. The Rangers tied the game in the second on a Garver home run and took a 3-1 lead in the fourth after Heim blasted a two-run home run. The Astros cut the lead to 3-2 in the sixth but never got any closer. Garcia capped off the 9-2 win with a grand slam home run in the ninth. The series was knotted at 3-3.
The “Lone Star State Showdown” would come down to one game, with the winner headed to the World Series and the loser headed home. Astros pitcher Cristian Javier would face off against Texas ace Max Scherzer in this do-or-die game. The Rangers jumped to a 3-0 lead in the first inning after Seager homered and Garcia and Garver each batted in runs. The Astros countered with a run in the first, capitalizing on a lead-off double by Altuve.
After Garcia and Bregman traded home runs in the third, the score stood at 4-2.
Unfortunately for Astros fans, the Rangers’s lead would only grow from there. The Rangers scored four runs in the fourth and another two in the sixth, taking a commanding 10-2 lead.
The Rangers would go on to win the game 11-4, claiming bragging rights for the best baseball team in Texas. The Lone Star Showdown was an epic battle, appropriately coming down to a winner-take-all game seven. On that historic night, the Rangers proved they were the better team.
