ARLINGTON (CBSNewsTexas.com) – The Rangers came into Game 3 of this Lone Star Series with seven straight postseason wins this year.
Meanwhile, the Astros have seven straight postseason trips to the American League Championship Series. And it showed on Wednesday night as their bats woke up in an 8-5 win in front of 42,368 fans, the largest baseball crowd in the four-year history of Globe Life Field.
It all starts with pitching, and the Astros were throwing their second hottest starter this side of Justin Verlander. Cristian Javier shut down the Rangers without a hit until the fifth inning when Josh Jung tagged him for the first of his two home runs on the night. It snapped a string of 15 straight scoreless innings for Javier.
The Rangers, lacking in pitching depth, were hoping 39-year old Max Scherzer could get by on guile and guts in his first outing in five weeks. However, after a perfect first inning, Scherzer gave up five runs on five hits in four innings of work, yielding a solo homer to Jose Altuve.
Scherzer is hopeful this start laid the foundation for future success for him this postseason. That’s how confident he and the Rangers remain despite being handed their first loss in 17 days.
Texas maintains a 2-1 lead in this best of seven series, but what looms Thursday night is a pivotal Game 4. The Rangers dip further into relatively uncharted waters in their starting rotation as veteran lefty Andrew Heaney makes just his second career postseason start. Heaney went 3 2⁄3 innings in a Game 1 win over Baltimore in the Division Series. Dane Dunning worked two innings in relief of Heaney in that 3-2 win, and that could be the plan this time too.
The Astros will counter with right hander Jose Urquidy, who will be making his eighth postseason start, including a Division Series clinching win at Minnesota last week.
Thursday night’s game is critical for both teams, who will both likely circle back to their Game 1 starters — Jordan Montgomery vs. Justin Verlander — in Game 5 on Friday in Arlington.
