*Photo from Sports Illustrated*
Houston leads series 3-2
Want drama? This is the game for you. Alex Bregman homered, Jose Altuve hit the game winning homer, and the Houston Astros rallied to defeat the Texas Rangers with a 5-4 victory on Friday afternoon in Arlington.
The Astros have now won 3 straight games in the series, going from a 2-0 deficit to a 3-2 lead and one win away from what would be their 3rd straight World Series appearance. The heroics of Altuve in the 9th were huge, but it didn't come without tensions boiling over beforehand.
In the 8th inning, Adolis Garcia came up for the Rangers with a runner on and no one out. In the 6th, he had hit a go ahead home run, emphatically spiking the bat and walking down the first base line before beginning his trot around the bases, which gave the Rangers a two run lead.
Houston pitcher Bryan Abreu drilled Garcia in the back with a 99 mile per hour fastball in the 8th on the first pitch. Garcia got right in the face of Astros catcher Martin Maldonado, believing he was hit on purpose, leading to the benches and bullpens emptying quickly. No punches were thrown, but tensions that had been rising finally boiled over. Garcia, Abreu, and Astros manager Dusty Baker were all ejected.
Abreu said after the game that "My plan for him was to try to get the ball up and in. That's my plan on him, up and in, slider down and away and all that. But I just missed the pitch, and he overreacted. I was like, 'What's going on here?' I just missed it."
Garcia himself said of the incident that "I just reacted to the ball that came towards me. In that situation, he could have hurt me, he could have injured me. I just let him know that shouldn't happen there."
Bregman gave the Astros an early lead in the first inning. He blasted a solo home run to left field, making it 1-0 Astros. That score would last until the 5th inning, when Nathaniel Lowe hit a game tying solo home run to left field for the Rangers. In the top of the 6th, Jose Abreu gave the Astros a 2-1 lead on a single to center field.
That lead didn't last long, as Garcia came up in the bottom of the 6th. He hit a go ahead 3 run home run, with his celebration ensuing, giving the Rangers a 4-2 lead with the long ball. After the benches cleared in the 8th, Altuve came up in the 9th and delivered the game winning 3 run home run, making it 5-4 Astros.
Altuve said of the big 9th inning that "I know everybody is talking about the homer, but if you go and see Diaz's base hit and then Singleton walked, especially when he hasn't played in a lot of days, coming from the bench facing probably one of the best closers right now in the playoffs. So I think the key was these two guys and to be able to score all those runs."
Justin Verlander started for the Astros, allowing 4 runs on 6 hits and a walk in 5 2/3 innings. Hector Neris followed that up with 1 1/3 scoreless innings. Abreu didn't record an out before he was ejected, with Ryan Pressly pitching the next two innings to get the win.
It was Jordan Montgomery on the mound for the Rangers, allowing two runs in 5 1/3 innings pitched. Josh Sborz handled the next 1 2/3 innings before Aroldis Chapman pitched 2/3 of an inning. Jose Leclerc got the blown save and loss by allowing the 9th inning homer.
Rangers second baseman Marcus Semien said of the loss that "I've never been so frustrated on the field. It’s a well-played game and a big swing by them once again. It’s up to us to respond now, that’s all I got. It’s the most motivated we've ever been. The season is on the line. It’s a building where we've played good baseball, and we need to continue to do that."
The series goes back to Houston for game 6 on Sunday night. The Astros look to clinch the AL Pennant with Framber Valdez getting the start. Nathan Eovaldi starts for the Rangers as they try to force a do or die game 7 to keep their season alive.
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