Mad Max Laid An Egg, Astros Make It A Series - ALCS Game 3 Recap!
Familiar faces keep World Series hopes alive for the Astros in Arlington...
Hindsight is a wonderful thing.
For instance, in hindsight, maybe the Texas Rangers should have eased Max Scherzer back in rather than throw him straight into the heat of postseason battle.
Sure, the future Hall of Famer had been throwing in simulation games, but Game 3 would be the first time he’s pitched in an actual game in over a month due to a muscle strain.
Well, Mad Max’s comeback could not have imploded any more dramatically.
In other words, Scherzer laid an absolute Godzilla-sized egg on the mound and was beaten around by the Astros like a poor, defenseless bunny. It wasn’t pretty.
As for Houston, this team just doesn’t know how to quit. Throwing in the towel just isn’t wired in this organization’s DNA. Nor is losing on the road. The Astros went an incredible 51-30 on the road during the regular season and, with their win in Game 3, they are now 3-0 on the road in the postseason.
Again, we were all fired a not-very subtle warning on Wednesday on why it isn’t a good idea to ever, ever doubt the Houston Astros. Just don’t do it.
I’ve used this analogy before but it is so true - think of this team as that creepy jerk Michael Myers from the Halloween franchise. It doesn’t matter how many knifes you plunge in their back, throat, eye, gut or, indeed, any other body part, it doesn’t how many times you set them on fire and leave them to burn to a fine crisp, it doesn’t matter how many high-rise towers you hurl them off or how many times you shoot them directly in the head, the Astros are going to always do their best Michael Myers impression and rise from the dead every single time.
There is just no killing this team. No matter what you do. Especially in October.
With that, let’s dive fully into all the action from Game 3 of the American League Championship Series on Wednesday…
ALCS GAME 3 RECAP
Houston Astros (1-2) 8-5 Texas Rangers (2-1)
It is so tempting to use every single villain analogy that exists out there in the big, wide world on the Houston Astros. It’s just too easy.
I can just picture it now; the Astros cackling away in a dark, gloomy, spine-chilling laboratory as they soak up all the doubts and absorb all the arrows fired their way, before supercharging the latest version of Frankenstein so that they can go out and destroy all those that dared to oppose them.
The Texas Rangers, playing really solid, fundamental baseball and heading back home with a 2-0 series lead, yeah the Astros are cooked, right? WRONG. And that crap just fuels the monster even more. Writing off this team is like pouring a bucket of energy drink right down the throat of Frankenstein and then cutting him loose and watching on as all the chaos and inevitable destruction plays out.
We created the monster that ran wild at Globe Life Field on Wednesday. We are culpable for what transpired.
Juiced up on extreme motivation driven by a lethal cocktail of hatred, criticism and jealousy, the Astros were a towering, frothing at-the-mouth, relentless, horrifying demon that ripped the Rangers to pieces in game 3.
Returning to the scene of many of their most horrific crimes this year - Houston outscored Texas by 29 runs in a three-game sweep in Arlington in September and are now 7-1 at GLF this season - the Astros leaned on some familiar faces to fire a blunt reminder to their opponents that they own Globe Life Field whenever they are in town.
Yordan Alvarez, who entered this game with six postseason homers, got the show underway by scoring on Max Scherzer’s bases-loaded wild pitch with his Major League-leading 11th run scored of the postseason. Scherzer’s struggles were as much a part of this game’s narrative as the Astros’ dominance, with the three-time Cy Young winner going on to give up a two-run single to veteran catcher Martín Maldonado and then a solo blast to Jose Altuve. By the way, Altuve’s third inning blast was his 25th career postseason home run. He’s now five away from passing Manny Ramirez for the all-time record.
Mauricio Dubón then scored José Abreu to make it a 5-0 game, and that proved to be the end of Scherzer’s miserable night. The ace was absolutely roughed up in his eagerly-anticipated return, allowing five earned runs on five hits with one walk while striking out four. There was tangible hope that Scherzer would make a triumphant comeback, produce a typical dominant postseason Max Scherzer outing and all but close the door on the Astros. Instead, he crapped the bed and left the door wide open for Houston to start creeping its way back in.
If this series now gets flipped on its head and the Astros come all the way back, questions will be asked in regards to whether or not Scherzer was truly ready for the high-pressure stakes of playoff baseball after being on the shelf for over a month. Or, just maybe, his outing in Game 3 was indicative of a larger problem. After all, there is enough of a sample size now out there to suggest that maybe Scherzer’s best days are firmly behind him and maybe it is foolish to expect true greatness from him anymore. He is firmly in the back-nine of his career, after all.
In addition to being helped thanks to Scherzer laying a Godzilla-sized egg, Houston got big-time contributions from up and down their lineup on Wednesday. Alvarez hit a two-run single in the top of the seventh, and his ninth inning single ensured that he joined Carlos Beltran (2004) and Alex Rodriguez (2009) as the only players to tally five or more home runs, 10 or more RBIs and 10 or more hits in their first seven games of a postseason. Talk about productive. Jeremy Peña then hit an RBI single to finish up the scoring for the Astros in the eighth, who also got a big-time play in the field from Michael Brantley. With Houston holding a 5-2 lead in the sixth, the Rangers had a runner on second when Adolis García hit a fly ball to left center that looked almost certain it was going to drop for an extra-bases hit. Well, Brantley disagreed. Instead, the veteran outfielder proceeded to sprint after the dropping ball and then make a spectacular, tumbling catch. It’s little moments like that diving grab that can change the entire outcome in a game. Closer Ryan Pressly then came in and shut the door emphatically, throwing a scoreless inning to improve to 14-for-14 in save situations in his postseason career.
And how about Cristian Javier?! What a postseason legacy that guy is writing for himself. Javier rode his lethal and filthy fastball to constant success in Game 3, throwing 10 straight four-seamers to sit down the top of the Texas lineup in a dominant 1-2-3 first inning. It was a thrilling portent of things to come. Javier put an exclamation point on his heroic night by allowing just two earned runs on three hits with one walk and three strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings. It was yet another all-conquering outing in the playoffs for Javier, who seems to thrive on the biggest stage in October. Javier was no-hitting the Rangers for 4 2/3 innings, and his remarkable streak of 20 1/3 scoreless postseason innings came to an end when Josh Jung homered. That’s still the second longest-streak in playoff history to begin a postseason career as a starter, however, right behind Christy Mathewson who had 28 scoreless postseason innings in 1905. Plus, Javier now boasts the lowest opponent batting average in a four-start span in postseason history with a stellar .071 mark, per Sarah Langs of MLB.com. The full list?
2022-23 - Cristian Javier: .071
1997-2001 - Mike Mussina: .104
1997 - Mike Mussina: .112
2022 - Zack Wheeler: .118
2017-18 - Justin Verlander: .118
Remarkable. And, if the Astros are to come all the way back and this series goes to a Game 7, Javier would be the starter in a do-or-die game. With a sparkling postseason ERA of 2.08 and a fastball that leaves hitters in a hot mess, Javier could be set to write yet more postseason history this year.
Allow me to give the Rangers some props for a second. They hung on in there and did their best to make this as compelling a contest as possible. True, every time Texas came up with a response, Houston answered right back. However, the Rangers refused to go quietly into that long goodnight. Josh Jung hit a pair of homers to keep the game close, becoming the 11th rookie with a multi-homer postseason game and his seven XBH are tied for the most by a rookie in his first eight career postseason games, joining Jeremy Peña and Evan Longoria, per Sarah Langs of MLB.com. Adolis Garcia then kept it interesting with an RBI single in the eighth inning. But, the best play of the day from a Texas player came courtesy of Leody Taveras in the sixth inning. With no outs and Houston holding a 5-2 lead, Yordan Alvarez slammed what looked to be his seventh homer of the postseason. Not so freaking fast. Nope, Taveras was determined not to let that happen, instead sprinting back to the wall and managing to outdo Superman by making one of the best leaping grabs at the wall you will ever see. It was simply phenomenal. Honestly, it is worth at least 50 views this morning alone.
Despite opening the door wide enough for Houston to get back in, this has still been a pretty remarkable postseason for the Rangers. They won seven of their first eight games in a single postseason. As did the Phillies, which is the first time that two teams have done that in a single postseason, per Sarah Langs. Before Wednesday night, Texas had trailed for just three plate appearances over seven postseason games, before trailing for the entire contest in Game 3. The moral of the story? The Texas Rangers will need to get back to their tried-and-tested recipe of coming out swinging in games and not giving the Astros a chance to do what they do best. It’s all set up to be a hugely compelling and pivotal Game 4 on Thursday.
Stat Of The Day:
Jose Altuve is just amazing. And it is such a shame that his reputation was dragged through the mud in the wake of the sign-stealing scandal. It took Altuve a long-time to recover from that, and I’m sure his Hall of Fame case will be forever weakened because of that controversy. However, there is no doubt that, scandals and cheating aside, Altuve is a Hall of Famer. I mean, just look at his resume in the postseason alone. Not only did he move a step closer to catching Manny Ramirez (29) for the all-time postseason home run lead, but his single in the seventh inning secured a 33rd postseason multi-hit game for Altuve, third most behind Derek Jeter (58) and Bernie Williams (36). Not only that, but Altuve also became just the fourth player to tally 200 or more total bases in postseason play. Altuve’s 202 total bases trails just Jeter (302), Ramirez (223) and Williams (223). While Altuve’s legacy will be a complicated one due to his alleged role in the sign-stealing scandal, his prowess in October can never be disputed. He’s a special, special player when the lights shine brightest and the pressure is at its most intense.
Coming Up
We have not one but two games on Thursday, and with another two games on Friday, that’s four postseason contests in just two nights. All four games are absolutely critical too, so this should be a lot of fun…
Philadelphia Phillies (2-0) At Arizona Diamondbacks (0-2) - 5:07 P.M. ET (TBS)
LHP Ranger Suárez, Philadelphia (1-0, 1.04 ERA) - RHP Brandon Pfaadt, Arizona (0-0, 3.86 ERA)
There’s no doubt the pitching matchup favors the Phillies from this point on. Ranger Suárez, who has been stellar so far this postseason, gets the ball to start Game 3 and he’ll be looking to help push the Diamondbacks to the brink of elimination. He boasts a stellar 1.04 ERA this postseason, and his career playoff ERA is 1.16, with a 3-0 record and a save. If Suárez has his same filthy stuff in Game 3, I fear for Arizona, I really do. Because, let’s be honest, this Phillies lineup is going to come up with at least a few big hits during the course of the game because they are just too good and loaded to be completely shutdown. If this D-Backs lineup stumbles out of the gate and can’t figure out Suárez, then I think we’ll be talking about the Phillies looking to close out this series on Friday.
Houston Astros (1-2) At Texas Rangers (2-1) - 8:03 P.M. ET (FS1)
RHP José Urquidy, Houston (1-0, 3.18 ERA) - LHP Andrew Heaney, Texas (0-0, 2.45 ERA)
The Houston Astros are now 7-1 at Globe Life Field in 2023, and 3-0 on the road this postseason. The odds of them improving to 8-1 in Arlington tonight are incredibly high, especially coming off a huge victory in Game 3. This series really does hang in the balance heading into Game 4. If the Astros can pull off a second consecutive win, then we’ve got a brand new series. However, if the Rangers are able to gather themselves and bounce-back to make this a 3-1 series, well then we’re back to proclaiming the Astros nearly dead. Which, as I outlined in great detail above, is always a stupid thing to do but, in a Best-of-Seven series, Houston is going to run out of road at some point if they don’t keep on winning. I firmly believe most of the momentum is with the road team right now in the wake of what happened on Wednesday. However, if the Rangers are to seize a lot of that momentum back, they are going to need more from Corey Seager and Marcus Semien. The two-headed monster atop this potent and deep Texas lineup are just a combined 4-for-25 in the ALCS with no extra-base hits. If that kind of stretch continues, then the Rangers may blow this whole thing. However, both Seager and Semien are elite and I don’t see them being shutdown for long. Game 4 is the perfect opportunity for the pair to put together monster nights at the plate. And, if they are able to do just that, we could have an elimination game on our hands on Friday.
That’s all for today!
I’ll be back on Friday with a recap of tonight’s two games, as well as looking ahead to Game 5 in the ALCS and Game 4 in the NLCS. And, who knows, we could be previewing two elimination games!
Oh, and we’re getting closer to launching our new-look website! The aim is by the weekend, so keep an eye out for that.
Until then…
