On Wednesday night, Jose Altuve connected for a home run and Cristian Javier worked into the sixth inning in another solid postseason opener as the Houston Astros beat the Texas Watchmen 8-5 to close to within 2-1 in the American League Championship Series. League Championship Series.
Texas lost for the first time this postseason after a 7-0 start. Three-time Cy Young winner Max Scherzer left the game after four innings in his first start in more than a month after recovering from a shoulder injury.
The Watchers Did Not See The Light
Javier set a franchise record for the defending champion Astros by extending his streak of no runs allowed in the postseason to 20 innings and one-third.
That streak was snapped in the fifth when rookie Josh Jung hit the first of his two two-run home runs. Javier improved to 4-0 in his four postseason starts, allowing just five hits.
The 26-year-old Dominican right-handed pitcher, known as "The Reptile," limited the Vigilantes to two runs and three hits in five and two-thirds innings in his second win of the playoffs. He threw 51 of 85 pitches for strikes.
Ryan Pressly, the third reliever, worked the ninth inning for his third save of the playoffs, triggering a double play that ended Jung's game.
Martin Maldonado and Yordan Alvarez had two-run singles for the Astros, who scored five runs with two outs.
Jung connected for his second two-run home run in the seventh for the Lookouts, who played just their second home game this postseason.
The team swept the Tampa Bay Rays and Baltimore Orioles, the top two teams in the American League in the regular season, to reach its first American League Championship Series since 2011.
This is also their first postseason series against their American League West Division state rivals.
Game 4 is Thursday night and Game 5 will be Friday afternoon. The Astros have a 40-45 record at home this year, losing three of four in the playoffs.
But they have won 17 of their last 20 road games, including both at Minnesota in the American League Divisional Series and three during a series at Globe Life Field in early September, where they connected for 16 home runs and outscored Texas 39-10.
The Philadelphia Phillies, who were swept in three games at Globe Life Field earlier in the season, lead 2-0 in the National League Championship Series, which resumes Thursday in Arizona.
The Watchmen trailed just one of the previous 64 innings this postseason, until a three-run second inning that put Houston ahead for good.
#PorSiTeLoPerdiste: Jose Altuve took his stick for the first time in this Championship Series! 🍭
🗣️ @FRomeroAstros and Alex Treviño
📻 @tudnhouston @MLBVenezuela | #Postseason pic.twitter.com/WZ2oUygFka- Houston Astros (@LosAstros) October 19, 2023
Astros Stay Alive in the Series
Alvarez took an 89 mph cutter off his left foot to start that inning, the beleaguered Kyle Tucker got a ticket and Mauricio Dubon filled the bases with a single.
Alvarez came home when Scherzer bounced a wild pitch off Jonah Heim's glove and Maldonado, the No. 9 hitter, followed with his big hit.
Altuve hit a home run to open the third inning. Jose Abreu hit a double on the first pitch in the fourth and scored on a single by Dubon for a 5-0 lead.
When Scherzer reached the dugout and stopped on the steps after striking out the next two batters, there was a brief conversation with manager Bruce Bochy, who at one point gestured toward the Watchmen's bullpen in right field.
Bochy said the most important thing is that Scherzer felt good after the game.
The 39-year-old veteran Scherzer, acquired in a midseason trade with the Mets, allowed five runs and five hits.
Scherzer was dealing with a forearm strain six weeks ago when he allowed seven runs, all on three home runs, in three innings in the Astros' 12-3 victory that concluded that September series.
He pitched five and one-third innings without allowing a run six days later, on September 12 in Toronto, before going on the injured list due to a shoulder injury.
Javier finished after a hard two-out hit by rookie Evan Carter to right field in the sixth, a ball that sailed over Tucker's head toward the wall after being mishandled for a double by the Gold Glove finalist.
Héctor Neris replaced Javier, and the inning ended with a defensive gem.
Left fielder Michael Brantley, a 36-year-old five-time All-Star who returned in August after missing 14 months with a shoulder injury, ran more than 80 feet to make a catch in the hole and rob Adolis Garcia of an extra-base hit.
Alvarez was robbed of what would have been his seventh home run of this postseason with a 416-foot blast to center field in the sixth inning. Leody Taveras made a leaping catch with his arm extended beyond the wall.
