The Texas Rangers lost their third consecutive game of the American League Championship Series as they watched a 4-2 lead evaporate after a three-run home run by Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve in the top of the ninth.
Texas battled back twice against Houston starter Justin Verlander, taking the lead on a three-run home run by Adolis Garcia in the bottom of the sixth inning. But in the end, the Astros delivered the decisive blow.
“I really wanted to win this game since the first inning,” Altuve told members of the media in a postgame press conference. “Obviously, it’s a big game, so I was really trying not to let anything distract me or bother me.”
After Astros third baseman Alex Bregman hit a solo home run off Texas starter Jordan Montgomery in the first inning, the game turned into a pitching duel as Verlander retired the first seven hitters he faced and kept Texas off the scoreboard until the fifth inning. Montgomery recovered to pitch four straight scoreless innings.
First baseman Nathaniel Lowe tied the game at one for the Rangers with a home run down the left-field line, but Houston responded with an RBI single, and Montgomery was pulled from the game with two runners on base and just one out in the top of the sixth. Josh Sborz came on and quickly got two more outs with the bases loaded to limit the damage.
Corey Seager and Evan Carter delivered one-out hits in the Rangers’ half of the inning, bringing up Garcia to launch his go-ahead home run.
Garcia returned to the plate in the eighth and was hit by a pitch from Houston reliever Bryan Abreu, causing a confrontation as both benches and bullpens rushed onto the field. The umpires ruled that Abreu had hit Garcia on purpose and quickly ejected the two players and Houston manager Dusty Baker from the game.
“I can understand how he would take exception to that because nobody likes to get hit,” Baker said after the game. “But you’re certainly not going to add runs on in the ninth inning in the playoffs when we’re trying to win the game.”
The inning continued without issue after an 11-minute delay, and Texas closer Jose LeClerc returned to the mound to try to complete a four-out save. LeClerc walked the inning’s first two batters, and Altuve made him pay with one swing to take a late 5-4 lead. LeClerc remained in the game to finish the inning, but the Rangers entered the final frame trailing once again.
Houston closer Ryan Pressly had similar struggles in the bottom of the inning, allowing back-to-back singles before working his way out of the jam and securing the win with some help from his defense.
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WHAT TO KNOW
— Houston now leads the ALCS 3-2 and is one win away from going to its third consecutive World Series as the series moves to Houston on Sunday. The Astros won all three games in Arlington after losing the first two at home.
— The road team has won each game in the ALCS.
— After a disappointing Game 4, the Rangers shuffled their lineup and got five hits from the bottom of the order.
— The Rangers’ season will be over after one more loss. They will force a winner-take-all Game 7 on Monday in Houston if they win on Sunday.
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BY THE NUMBERS
— The Astros are now 9-1 in Arlington this season.
— Sborz has not allowed an earned run in six appearances (six innings) this postseason, but the Texas bullpen has allowed 13 runs over the last three games.
— Both teams hit two home runs and left eight runners on base.
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WHO SAID
— Bochy on the long delay in the eighth: “I was concerned about that delay. I really was. It was a long one. It was taking too long, to be honest. The whole thing was a bunch of crap, to be honest. Who knows what the intentions are, but it’s not the first time it’s happened.”
— Altuve on his game-winning home run: “… It was a cool moment because we ended up winning.”
NEXT UP
— The series moves to Houston for Game 6 at 7:03 p.m. CT on Sunday.
