The ‘defending champion’ Houston Astros successfully counterattacked in enemy territory.
Houston won 8-5 with 12 long and short hits in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series (ALCS, 4 wins out of 7) held at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, on the 19th (Korean time).
Houston, which won its first game in a visiting game after losing the first and second games at home, laid the foundation for turning the series around.
In the past 4 wins out of 7 games, there have been 44 cases out of 148 where a team that was behind by 1 win and 2 losses in the 3rd game turned the series around, which is a 30% probability.
In the case where the team that won the third game after losing two games in a row turns it over, the probability falls further to 26%, or 13 times out of 50.
In Game 3, the brightness and darkness of the starting pitchers of both teams were clearly different.
Christian Javier, who started for Houston, went on a no-hitter until 2 outs in the 5th inning and became the winning pitcher by allowing 3 hits and 2 runs with 3 strikeouts in 5⅔ innings.
In particular, Javier set a scoreless record for 20⅓ innings in the postseason before being hit by a home run by Texas rookie batter Josh Jeong.
On the other hand, veteran Max Scherzer, who appeared as the starting pitcher for Texas, suffered a loss by allowing 5 hits and 5 runs in 4 innings.
Scherzer, who was placed on the injured list (IL) at the end of the season due to shoulder pain, took the mound for the first time in a month, but collapsed before even lasting the fifth inning.
Houston took the lead early in the game while Scherzer’s control was shaking.
In the top of the second inning, with the bases loaded and two outs on a hit to the body, a walk, and one hit, Scherzer scored the first run on a wild pitch, and then Martin Maldonado hit a timely hit with two RBIs to left to take a 3-0 lead.
In the third inning, leadoff hitter Jose Altuve kicked up Scherzer’s high 152km fastball and drew a solo arch that went well over the left-center fence, widening the lead to 4-0.
In the fourth inning, Jose Abreu hit a double and then scored on Mauricio Dubon’s timely hit to make it 5-0.
Texas, which was unable to properly target Houston starter Javier’s pitch, recorded its first hit with two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning when Nathaniel Law hit a single to left.
Then, at the plate, Jeong hit a two-run home run that went over the right-center fence, setting the stage for the chase.
In the top of the sixth inning, Houston’s leadoff hitter, Jordan Alvarez, hit a home run over the center field, but Texas center fielder Leody Tavares jumped over the fence and made a catch.
However, Alvarez’s bat burned in the next at-bat as well.
Alvarez, who reappeared in the top of the 7th inning with bases loaded and 2 outs, hit a timely hit with 2 RBIs, widening the lead to 7-2.
Texas went back to trailing 4-7 in the bottom of the 7th inning when Jeong, who emerged as a new slugger, hit a two-run home run in consecutive hits.
Houston scored 1 run in the top of the 8th inning thanks to a timely hit by Jeremy Peña, but Texas made up for 1 run in the bottom of the 8th inning with Adolis Garcia’s timely hit to right.
Houston was unable to score an additional run in the top of the 9th inning when Kyle Tucker’s dominant double with 2 outs and runners on first base led Alvarez, the runner on first base, to home but was tagged out on an accurate throw to home.안전놀이터
However, closer Ryan Pressley, who took the mound in the bottom of the 9th inning, faced only three batters and preserved the team’s victory by allowing no runs.
Game 4 of the ALCS will be held at the same venue on the 20th. (yunhap news)