(Arlington) Jose Altuve scored, Cristian Javier was solid in his five and two-thirds work, and the Houston Astros beat the Texas Rangers 8-5 on Wednesday night to close the gap to 2-1 in the American League Series of the Championship.
It was the first defeat in the current playoffs for the Rangers, who won the first seven games. Star pitcher Max Scherzer gave up his spot after four innings in his first game in more than a month after recovering from a pulled shoulder muscle.
Javier set a team record by extending his scoreless inning streak to 20 and ⅔. His streak ended in the fifth inning when rookie Josh Jung hit the first of his two two-run homers.
Javier limited the Rangers to two runs and three hits for their second playoff win.
In four postseason appearances, the pitcher has a perfect 4-0 record and has given up just five hits.
“I always try to have the same mentality,” he said through a translator. These are very special moments for me. As for the game, I just try to stay focused and attack the attacking zone. »
Ryan Pressly entered in the ninth inning for his third save of the playoffs, including a double play against Jung to end the game.
Martín Maldonado and Yordan Alvarez hit two-run singles for the Astros.
Jung hit his second two-run home run in the seventh inning for the Rangers, who were playing just their second home game of the playoffs. The Rangers beat the Tampa Bay Rays and Baltimore Orioles in the previous two rounds.
The Rangers had lost in just one of their previous 64 playoff innings before seeing the Astros post a three-run second inning on Wednesday.
Altuve hit his long ball in the top of the third inning. José Abreu hit a double on the first pitch of the next inning before scoring on Mauricio Dubón’s single to make it 5-0 for the Astros.
The fourth game of the series will be played on Thursday night, while the fifth is scheduled for Friday afternoon.
The Astros have won 17 of their last 20 road games, including both matchups against the Twins in Minnesota in the previous round.
