(Arlington) Jose Altuve homered, Cristian Javier was solid on the mound for 5 2/3 innings of work, and the Houston Astros beat the Texas Rangers 8-5 Wednesday night to close the gap at 2-1 in the American League Championship Series.
It was a first defeat in the current playoffs for the Rangers, who had won their first seven games. Star pitcher Max Scherzer gave up his place after four innings, in his first game in more than a month after recovering from a shoulder muscle strain.
Javier set a team record by extending his streak of scoreless innings to 20 and ⅔. His streak ended in the fifth inning, when rookie Josh Jung hit the first of his two two-run home runs.
Javier limited the Rangers to two runs and three hits for his second victory of the playoffs.
In four postseason starts, the pitcher has a perfect 4-0 record and has only given up 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 match, I just try to stay focused and attack the strike zone. »
Ryan Pressly came on 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 both hit two-run singles for the Astros.
Jung hit his second two-run homer in the seventh inning for the Rangers, who were playing only their second home game of the playoffs. The Rangers swept the Tampa Bay Rays and Baltimore Orioles in the previous two rounds.
The Rangers trailed in just one of the previous 64 playoff innings before seeing the Astros post a three-run second inning on Wednesday.
Altuve hit his long ball at the start 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 the Astros 5-0.
The fourth game of the series will be played Thursday evening, while the fifth is scheduled for Friday afternoon.
The Astros have won 17 of their last 20 road games, including their two meetings against the Twins in Minnesota last round.