ARLINGTON, Texas – Soon the Stars will be back in action in the American League Championship Series.
Maybe it wasn’t future Hall of Famers like Justin Verlander or Max Scherzer, or proven postseason studs like Framper Valdez or Nathan Ewald who won Thursday night. , not dominance, was the tagline.
Nobody survived October like the Houston Astros.
On a night that went beyond the third inning, the Astros won a Game 4 mudslinger by hammering Texas Ranger after Ranger and had enough good fortune on the run prevention side to post a 10-3 win. This ALCS is 2-2 square.
The Astros and Rangers are tied, with the road team winning each game in the series, and Houston has erased a 2-0 deficit and will now enjoy two of the three remaining scheduled games at home.
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They can thank their sluggers for this.
The Astros took an immediate 3-0 lead on Rangers starter Andrew Heaney after their first four batters recorded hits, Alex Bregman’s two-run triple and Yordon Alvarez’s single driving in runs, and Heaney left after recording two outs.
After Texas responded in style, tying the game and chasing down Houston’s Jose Urqudi on third down, Houston responded with a decisive blitz and nobody out in the fourth. Lefty reliever Cody Bradford was called up for Yordon Alvarez.
They battled through eight pitches, with Bradford technically doing his job by flying Alvarez down the warning track in center. A sacrifice fly in 17 of 30 ballparks would have been a grand slam.
But that only delayed the inevitable: Jose Abreu hit a low line drive over the Houston bullpen for a three-run homer in the second and a 7-3 lead.
If there’s a mound hero, it’s Hunter Brown, the swingman who pitches three innings of two-hit ball, even with good luck. With the first two Rangers singled in the bottom of the fifth, Seager fired a 109-mile line drive down the right wing. He struck out Marcus Siemian and returned to first base, but Siemian was ruled safe.
A replay review revealed that Abreu had nicked Siemian’s batting glove, reaching from his back pocket. Double play.
Series Eq. And an important Game 5 lurks on Friday afternoon.
Chaz McCormick home run gives Astros more breathing room
ARLINGTON, Texas — Chaz McCormick hit a two-run home run in the seventh inning of ALCS Game 4 that extended the Houston Astros’ lead to 9-3, but Thursday night’s shot off reliever Will Smith could have long-term implications.
Taking the game from a four-run Astros lead to a six-run swell, McCormick may have ensured the Astros stayed away from their best relievers, Hector Neris, Brian Abreu and closer Ryan Pressley.
Now, with the Astros tying the series at 2-2, everyone will be rested for Friday afternoon’s crucial Game 5 at Globe Life Field.
Phil Matton was relieved in the seventh inning, and the Astros needed nine more outs to tie.
— Cape Locks
The Astros took a 7-3 lead after Jose Abreu’s home run
ARLINGTON, Texas — Cody Bradford is a young pitcher, a tall lefty who competes with a 91 mph fastball. Despite this lack of talent, he found himself competing in the most unpopular spot manager Bruce Bochy had: bases loaded, Yordon Alvarez at the plate.
Bradford escaped the spot after a nine-pitch at-bat.
But Jose Abreu made him buy.
The fourth inning of ALCS Game 4 gave the Astros a 7-3 lead.
One might be tempted to call Abreu’s shot “game-breaking,” but this game can’t be broken, and the Astros didn’t need to cover 18 outs, and three of their high-leverage relievers went down after hitting Game 3.
The wild ride continues.
— Cape Locks
Corey Seager’s home run made it 3-3
ARLINGTON, Texas — Corey Seager tied Game 4 of the ALCS with a single.
But Seager was different, and not only did he reach Houston Astros starter Jose Urqudi’s 92-mph fastball, he also drove it 401 feet into the opposite field into the Astros bullpen to tie the game 3-3.
After two more singles, Urqudi exited the game, joining Rangers starter Andrew Heaney in recording just nine outs.
Now, there are six innings to play.
— Cape Locks
The Rangers came back in the game with two runs against Jose Urqudi
ARLINGTON, Texas — Just two innings into Game 4, it was clear that relievers would decide this contest.
Adolis Garcia hit a leadoff homer in the bottom of the second and the Texas Rangers scored another run off Houston Astros starter Jose Urqudi on a double by Nathaniel Lowe and a sacrifice fly by Josh Jung, cutting the Astros’ lead to 3-2.
The Astros chased Rangers starter Andrew Heaney in the first with two outs, and the Rangers almost returned the favor in the second with Houston reliever Ryne Stanek warming up. But with two on, Urgudi limited the hot-hitting Jung to a sacrifice fly and struck out Leoty Taveras to prevent the tying run at second.
— Cape Locks
The Astros got off to a fast start with three runs in the first inning
ARLINGTON, Texas – The Houston Astros continue to blow up the Texas Rangers’ postseason pitching plans.
Entering a 2-1 lead in Game 4 of the ALCS, the Rangers once again targeted Andrew Heaney and Dan Dunning to successfully “piggyback,” the lefty going as far as he could before turning it over to his right-handed opponent.
But Heaney never got off the ground.
Houston hit him with a double, single and Alex Bregman’s two-run triple before he recorded an out, and the Astros chased him from the game before he finished the first inning. Dunning relieves and settles the game: 3-0 Astros before the Rangers went to bat.
Heaney and Dunning teamed up in the Rangers’ most important win of the season: a 3-2 victory in Game 1 of the Baltimore ALDS, when Heaney retired the first 11 batters before Dunning and four relievers finished the job. The Rangers swept the ALDS in three games and won the first two in the ALCS.
But now, pending Jose Urqudi’s decision as the Astros’ starter, the series seems ticketed to go back to Houston for Game 6.
— Cape Locks
How to watch Astros vs. Rangers: ALCS Game 4, TV Channel
The game is set to begin on Thursday night 8:03 pm ETBroadcasting Fox Sports 1 Or Streaming by fuboTV.
How will the Rangers respond to their first postseason loss?
ARLINGTON, Texas — After returning from a 37-day layoff due to a shoulder strain, his pitches lacked his usual command. Max Scherzer allowed five runs in four innings and was no match for Astros playoff artist Christian Javier, who picked up a one-hitter in the fifth inning Wednesday night at Globe Life Field.
The Astros won Game 3 of this American League Championship Series 8-5 and, trailing the series 2-1, can take solace in the next question facing the Rangers.
What to do tomorrow?
Texas stormed through the AL wild-card series and division series, winning the first two games of this ALCS as seasoned playoff vet Nathan Ewaldi and left-hander Jordan Montgomery managed to start five of their seven games.
But the top seven format can’t hide anywhere in the list. And Scherzer’s gambit — he played a pair of simulated games, hitting 69 pitches before the Rangers started their famously aggressive mercenary — failed miserably.
Are Rangers, undefeated 24 hours ago, suddenly in trouble?
“No one said it was going to be easy,” says Rangers designated hitter Mitch Carver. “Certainly no one thought we were going to go out and win.”
“There will be some bumps.”
Astros, Rangers lineups, starting pitchers for ALCS Game 4
Houston Astros
Starting Pitcher: RHP Jose Urqudi
- Jose Altuve (R) 2B
- Maurizio Dubon (R) cf
- Alex Bregman (R) 3B
- Yordan Alvarez (L) DH
- Jose Abreu (R) 1 b
- Kyle Tucker (L)
- RF Chas McCormick (R) LF
- Jeremy Pena (R) SS
- Martin Maldonado (R) c
Texas Rangers
Starting pitcher: LHP Andrew Heaney
- Marcus Siemian (R) 2B
- Corey Seager (L) SS
- Evan Carter (L) LF
- Adolis Garcia (R) RF
- Mitch Carver (R) DH
- Joanna Heim (S) c
- Nathaniel Lowe (L) 1B
- Josh Jung (R)
- 3B Leoty Taveras (S) CF
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