Rangers vs Astros : ALCS Game 3 Recap

Credit: Houston Chronicle

Wednesday, October 18, 2023...Game 3 of the American League Championship Series. The series shifts to Globe Life Field as Christian Javier of the Houston Astros faces Max Scherzer of the Texas Rangers. The Astros would ultimately win 8-5, to cut their series deficit down to only a 2-1 Rangers lead.

Here is the Gameday lineups, stats, and graphics related to Game 3 for your further viewing.

Rangers vs Astros Game 3 Recap

The Astros would tag Scherzer for three runs in top of the second innings, and then one in each of the third and fourth inning to jump out to a 5-0 lead, and would not waver that lead for the rest of the game.

A wild pitch scored Yordan Alvarez for the first run of the game, and Martin Maldonado followed up with a two run single to give the Astros a three run lead. Jose Altuve would hit his second home run of the postseason with a solo home run in the third inning, and Mauricio Dubon would drive in Jose Abreu with a single.

Jose Altuve sky cam photo after hitting a solo home run in ALCS Game 3.

Credit: ABC13

The Rangers' first hits and runs of the game came in the bottom of the fifth inning, when a Nathaniel Lowe single and Josh Jung home run made the score 5-2. In the top of the sixth inning, Alvarez would lead off by hitting a sharp line drive to center field that would have gone over the wall for his seventh home run in seven games, but center fielder Leody Taveras made a leaping grab to rob the home run.

However, two innings later in the top of the seventh, Yordan would make the score 7-2 with a two run single. Then, in the bottom half of the seventh Josh Jung would hit his second two run home run of the same to make the score 7-4. A Jeremy Pena and Adolis Garcia run scoring singles for each of their sides respectively in the top and bottom of the eighth inning would make the score 8-5.

Ryan Pressley would slam the door in the bottom half of the ninth inning, picking up his third save of the 2023 postseason and finalizing the score as an 8-5 Astros win. This is their first of the series, cutting down the Rangers series lead in the best-of-seven to only 2-1. This ended the Rangers undefeated streak winning the first seven games of the postseason.

Credit: The Athletic

For Astros' fans, their hope of getting back to the World Series and winning back-to-back World Series is growing. A Game 4 win for the 'Stros would even the series at 2-2, giving them home-field advantage once again. For Rangers' fans, they are hoping to regain the momentum they possessed all postseason, and take a demanding 3-1 series lead with a Game 4 win.

Catch Rangers vs Astros ALCS Game 4 tonight at 7:03 PM Central Time on FOX Sports 1. Jose Urquidy (Astros, 1-0, 3.18 ERA) will be facing up against Andrew Heaney (Rangers, 0-0, 2.45 ERA) on the mound. This is a must-watch, pivotal game, so make sure to tune in!