The Texas Rangers began the 2023 postseason by winning seven straight games. That winning streak came to a halt on Wednesday night, as the Houston Astros offense came to life in an 8-5 win over Texas in Game 3 of the ALCS.
Here are some takeaways:
Max Scherzer stuggles in return
Rangers' hurler Max Scherzer has a stellar postseason resume, but the right-hander hadn't pitched since Sept. 12 when he stepped on the mound Wednesday, and it showed.
Scherzer allowed five runs on five hits and a walk in four innings pitched. He threw 63 pitches.
After a clean first inning, the wheels began to fall off in the second. Scherzer had Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez down 0-2 and hit him on the foot with a breaking ball. After Jose Abreu struck out, Scherzer walked Kyle Tucker and gave up a single to Mauricio Dubon to load the bases. Scherzer then was able to get Jeremy Pena to pop out to second to get him one out away from working out of the jam. Scherzer threw a slider in the dirt that got away from Rangers catcher Jonah Heim, allowing Alvarez to score. On the next pitch, Martin Maldonado laced a single into left field, scoring two runs, before he was thrown out trying to advance to second base.
Scherzer would go on to allow a solo home run to Jose Altuve in the third and an RBI single to Dubon in the fourth. His night would end after four innings with Texas down 5-0.
Cristian Javier dominates
Astros' starter Cristian Javier had a 4.56 ERA in the regular season. But he wasn't that pitcher in Game 3.
As he has done throughout his postseason career, he took it to another level on Wednesday. Prior to Game 3, Javier had a 1.91 ERA in 15 postseason appearances (3 starts).
Besides a Josh Jung two-run home run in the 5th, the right-hander was masterful, getting Rangers hitters to pop out or fly out all night. He allowed two runs on three hits and one walk. He struck out three and kept Marcus Semien and Corey Seager at bay (0-6 combined).
Josh Jung homers twice, top of the lineup goes silent
Credit to Nathaniel Lowe and Josh Jung, who combined for four of the club's six hits on the night. Lowe's two-out singles in the fifth and seventh innings allowed Jung to come to the plate, leading to a two-run home run in each at-bat to keep the game within reach.
Meanwhile, the Rangers' top two hitters, Marcus Semien and Corey Seager, are in slumps. In eight games this postseason, Semien is hitting .171 and has an OBP of .237. That's not going to cut it from your leadoff hitter.
Seager started out hot this postseason but has gone cold in the ALCS. The shortstop is 2-13 this series with four strikeouts.
The Rangers need them to get going if they want to knock of the Astros.