*Photo from CNN*
Series tied 3-3
This series is going the distance. Mitch Garver drove in two runs, Adolis Garcia hit a grand slam, and the Texas Rangers routed the Houston Astros with a 9-2 victory on Sunday night in Houston.
Through the first 6 games of the series, the road team is undefeated, which bodes well for the Rangers entering game 7. The Rangers hit 3 home runs, driving in 7 of their 9 runs with the long ball. They forced a game 7 with the win, keeping their season alive for another day.
Rangers second baseman Marcus Semien said of the win that "We didn’t have a choice tonight. We had our backs against the wall. We did just enough to keep the lead, we got out of some jams and then just a big swing by Adolis. We live to fight another day and we'll see what tomorrow brings."
Yordan Alvarez gave the Astros a 1-0 lead in the first inning with an RBI single. Garver responded in the second inning for the Rangers, blasting a solo home run. In the 4th inning, Jonah Heim hit a two run home run, making it a 3-1 Rangers lead. Alvarez scored in the 6th on a sac fly from Mauricio Dubon to make it a 3-2 game.
Garver gave the Rangers an insurance run in the 8th inning, doubling to left field to score Evan Carter and make it a 4-2 game. In the 9th inning, Josh Jung scored when Corey Seager was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Garcia then broke the game open in a big way, hitting a grand slam to left field, making the score 9-2.
Heim said after the game that "We know the other night we got punched in the stomach, and it hurt. We had a day off to, I guess you can say, sit in our beds and cry. But as long as we came back today and got back to work and focused and played as a team, we were going to be just fine. I think everybody came ready to play. There's really no nerves. We just went out and played baseball, what we did 162 times this year."
Nathan Eovaldi started for the Rangers, allowing a pair of runs on 5 hits and 3 walks in 6 1/3 innings. Josh Sborz pitched a scoreless inning before Jose Leclerc pitched 2/3 of an inning to finish the 8th. Andrew Heaney pitched a scoreless 9th to seal the win.
Framber Valdez was the Houston starter, allowing 3 runs in 5 innings pitched. Phil Maton and Hector Neris had scoreless innings before Bryan Abreu allowed a run in the 8th. Rafael Montero and Ryne Stanek pitched in the 9th, with Montero responsible for 3 runs and Stanek for two.
Astros manager Dusty Baker said of the loss that "It's disappointing. The name of the game is opportunities, and then after that you hope that you come through. That eighth inning where we had action, and especially with Duby up there, this guy has been coming through all year long, and you know he's going to make contact. Like I said, some days you just don't get it done."
The deciding game 7 is on Monday night in Houston. A trip to the World Series is on the line, with Max Scherzer starting for the Rangers and Cristian Javier on the mound for the Astros.
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