The Houston Astros were defeated in game seven of the American League Championship Series 11-4 by the Texas Rangers. The loss ends the Astros’ bid to repeat as World Series champions in 2023 and sends the Rangers to the Fall Classic.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Astros turned to Cristian Javier, who had plenty of playoff success entering this one. However, Javier’s postseason pedigree did not serve him well, as he struggled from the beginning. Corey Seager lifted a solo home run to make it 1-0 Rangers. Then, Adolis Garcia and Mitch Garver followed with RBI singles to make it 3-0. Javier was pulled after recording just one out in the game.
The Rangers went with veteran Max Scherzer, who was making just his second start since returning from an injury that held him out of the first two postseason rounds. The Astros’ offense responded, as Jose Abreu recorded an RBI single to cut the deficit to 3-1.
Each team went scoreless in the second but got single runs in the third. Texas got theirs via a solo home run from Garcia, and Houston answered with a Bregman solo homer. That made it 4-2 Texas after three.
In the fourth, things unraveled for the Astros. JP France went to the mound, looking to give some length. The Rangers would rattle off five hits to score four runs in the inning, creating distance and making the lead 8-2.
The Astros went to Bryan Abreu in the 6th, who had his suspension deferred to the 2024 season before this game. He hit a batter and then gave up a two-run home run to Nathaniel Lowe, extending the Texas lead to 10-2.
Houston would add one more run in the seventh. Yordan Alvarez continued and incredible postseason as he drove in Bregman with an RBI single. That would be answered, however, as Garcia hit his seventh homer of the postseason and stretched the lead back to eight at 11-3.
Altuve added one more to the Houston tally, leading off the bottom of the ninth with a solo shot. However, the Astros’ flame was put out with an 11-4 loss.
BIG NUMBER: 4
Adolis Garcia had four hits in this game, and continued to be a problem against the Astros. He was dominant in the series.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Adolis Garcia
Garcia had four hits and five RBIs in the game seven win for Texas. He has had a postseason to remember and now will play on baseball’s biggest stage.
UP NEXT: The Houston Astros 2023 season comes to a close with the loss in the ALCS.