With A World Series Trip On the Line, the 2023 ALCS Goes to Game 7
Arlington, TX (PSF) — The apex of the 2023 ALCS has reached its peak.
The Texas Rangers and Houston Astros will battle for a World Series berth tomorrow at 5:03 pm.
The pitching matchup will seemingly be a good one, as seasoned veteran Max Scherzer will take the ball of the Rangers, and former breakout star Christian Javier will toe the rubber for Houston. Like Jeff Passan of ESPN said, the road team has won every game this series, which bodes will for the Texas Rangers.
This series has been a baseball fan’s dream. Filled with high levels of emotions with the in-state rivalry, this series has been highlighted by clutch moments offensively and on the mound. Whether it’s pitchers escaping bases-loaded jams like Nathan Eovaldi did, or go-ahead & game-icing home runs such as ones from Jose Altuve or Adolis Garcia, this series has not had a shortage of excitement.
Both of these teams are playing for something big. The Rangers have not made the World Series in 12 years, and they lost their back to back endeavors in 2010 and 2011 to the San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals respectively. The Houston Astros are the defending World Series champions, and are vying to be the first team to have back-to-back World Series wins since the New York Yankees in 1999 and 2000.
Sluggers Yordan Alvarez for Houston, and Adolis Garcia for Texas will be the hitters to watch in key situations. Both have come up big in key moments, and provided power in the middle of each team’s respective order.
For Rangers manager Bruce Bochy and his squad, their fate will lie in the hands of the storied 39-year old Max Scherzer. His last start against the Astros was gritty and ultimately ineffective, but he will have his shot at redemption this game. Regardless of how Scherzer has performed for the Rangers early, this game will decide whether they were winners or losers of the deal to acquire him. If he vaults them into a World Series berth, then everything was worth it. If he falters, it’s safe to say people will wonder in the Rangers will come to regret that deal.
In Houston’s case, Christian Javier will get his shot at the spotlight. After a few years of great production, Javier struggled this year to the tune of a 4.73 ERA in 156 innings, an unprecedented regression. His last two starts in the postseason has been 10.2 innings of 2 run ball. Coming off a 9-2 throttling at the hands of the Rangers’ offense, Javier will get the chance to either right the ship tomorrow — or sink with it.
MLB fans have been lucky to witness such competitive series. The entertainment reaches its highest point tomorrow, and the stakes have never been higher. In a clash of the American League’s best, only one will emerge as the candidate to win the World Series as the AL representative.
Postseason baseball doesn’t get much better than this.
