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The Rangers and Astros have never faced off in the postseason. In fact, they’ve only made the postseason in the same year once, in 2015, when both clubs were eliminated in their respective American League Division Series.
The two Texas clubs have met 266 times since their first meeting on June 8, 2001, at The Ballpark in Arlington, and now they’ll finally meet in the postseason for Game 1 of the ALCS at Minute Maid Park on Sunday. The defending World Series champion Astros are making their seventh consecutive appearance in the ALCS and looking for their fifth pennant since 2017.
The Astros won the Silver Boot in 2023, winning nine of the 14 matchups between the two clubs.
The Rangers spent 159 days of the season in first place in the AL West, but fell short of the crown on the last day of the season, when they failed to secure one more win over the Mariners. Texas rebounded quickly, sweeping through the AL’s top two teams in the Rays and Orioles to advance to its first ALCS since 2011.
On the other hand, Texas’ late collapse allowed the Astros to secure their third straight division title — and sixth in the last seven years — via a tiebreaker and punch a ticket straight to the ALDS, where they defeated the Twins in four games.
“It’s going to be a good battle,” Astros outfielder Michael Brantley said. “They worked hard to get here as well. We’re really familiar with one another. I know we have a lot of history and we look forward to going out there Game 1 and competing against them and it’s going to be a great series.”
Knowing a rematch of the Lone Star Series could be on the horizon, Rangers manager Bruce Bochy was only worried about one thing: making it to the ALCS to begin with.
“I haven’t been thinking about anything but trying to win this series [against Baltimore],” Bochy said. “I’m a game at a time, series at a time. That’s as far as I can go. But it could happen. You don’t know. But I’m just excited to hear we’re in the Championship Series.”
When is the game and how can I watch it?
Sunday’s game will be televised in the U.S. on FOX/FS1. The start time will be announced soon.
All series are available in the U.S. on MLB.TV with authentication to a participating Pay TV provider. Games are available live internationally (except in Canada). Full game archives will be available approximately 90 minutes after the game ends.
Who are the starting pitchers?
Rangers: likely LHP Jordan Montgomery
The rotation could be shuffled around if one or both of Max Scherzer and Jon Gray are activated off the injured list to make the ALCS roster, but Bochy will likely stay status quo to start Montgomery in Game 1.
The lefty, who the Rangers acquired from the Cardinals at the Trade Deadline, tossed seven scoreless innings in the Wild Card Series against the Rays, but struggled to allow five runs in four innings of Game 2 of the ALDS against the Orioles.
Montgomery by far has been the Rangers most consistent pitcher since the Trade Deadline, posting a 2.79 ERA in 11 regular-season starts since joining Texas.
Astros: Justin Verlander
Verlander’s 17 career postseason wins are second-most all-time behind Andy Pettitte, and he ranks third all time in playoff innings (213 2/3) and first in strikeouts with 236. Verlander was the MVP of the 2017 ALCS when the Astros beat the Yankees.
Verlander, who was traded back to the Astros in July after signing with the Mets in the offseason, beat the Rangers on Sept. 6, allowing one earned run in seven innings in Arlington. In his last three starts, including Game 1 of the ALDS against the Twins, he’s allowed one run in 19 innings.
What are the projected starting lineups?
Rangers: Bruce Bochy’s carousel in the three-hole has come right back around to Mitch Garver, who hadn’t made an appearance yet this postseason but hit a grand slam in the Game 2 win. Bochy then joked that if you hit a grand slam, you’ll be back in the lineup the next day. Garver was, and he delivered once again, with a big two-run double in the series-clinching win in Arlington.
Bochy also moved rookie Evan Carter up from the nine spot all the way to fifth, right smack in between All-Stars Adolis García and Jonah Heim. Carter is hitting .429 with 1.476 OPS in his first five career postseason games.
Astros: The Astros, who were second in the Major Leagues with an .809 OPS against left-handed pitching in the regular season, will likely trot out the same lineup they used in three out of the four games in the ALDS, with Yordan Alvarez likely in left field at Minute Maid Park.
How will the bullpens line up after the starter?
Rangers: The Rangers’ bullpen should be well rested after a few days off thanks to a sweep of the Orioles. José Leclerc has been the Rangers’ best reliever of late after finishing September with a 1.98 ERA across 13 2/3 innings after re-earning the closer role. He’s allowed just one run in five innings this postseason.
Aroldis Chapman has yet to allow a run, but has struggled with walks in the postseason, but guys like Josh Sborz and Will Smith have also been used in leverage situations. Martín Pérez, Dane Dunning and Cody Bradford will continue to be available as long-relief options.
The bullpen as a whole has been a weakness for Texas this season, but it’s been relatively steady this postseason.
Astros: The Astros’ bullpen will be rested and ready for the Rangers with three full days off between games. They’ll line up Hector Neris, Bryan Abreu and closer Ryan Pressly, who’s 13-for-13 all time in save chances in the playoffs, with Phil Maton the preferred choice to pitch out of jams.
Rafael Montero and Ryne Stanek could be called upon to get big outs, and there’s some long relief options in Hunter Brown and J.P. France, though one of them will likely have to start a game. Astros relievers have posted a 2.30 ERA in the team’s last 10 games (including the playoffs) with 58 strikeouts in 54 2/3 innings.
Rangers: The Rangers’ new and improved rotation has been decimated by injuries all season, with Jacob deGrom (right elbow), Max Scherzer (right shoulder) and Jon Gray (right forearm) all on the IL heading into the postseason. Both Gray and Scherzer threw a live BP on Wednesday and could be activated for the ALCS if all goes well, but there are no guarantees just yet.
Reliever Jonathan Hernández was left off the Wild Card and ALDS rosters due to a right lat strain, an injury that Bochy said was sustained during Game 162, when Hernández tossed one perfect inning with two strikeouts in Texas’ 1-0 loss to Seattle. It’s unclear whether he’ll be available after the ALDS.
Astros: Relief pitcher Kendall Graveman is battling right shoulder discomfort and wasn’t on the ALDS roster, though there’s a chance they could get him back for the ALCS.
Rangers: The Rangers’ rookie duo of Carter and Jung have continued their hot starts to this postseason, with Carter hitting .429 with 1.476 OPS and Jung hitting .400 with a 1.209 OPS. And yet, Seager has been better than both, with a .429/.680/.857 line in his first postseason with Texas.
It’s hard to pick a slumping player in the Rangers’ lineup after an overpowering sweep of the Orioles, but leadoff hitter Marcus Semien is hitting just .174 through the first five games and Nathaniel Lowe’s September slump extended into the postseason with a .182 average.
Astros: Alvarez had a monster ALDS against the Twins, going 7-for-16 with six extra-base hits, including four homers and six RBIs.
The man who bats behind him, José Abreu, was 5-for-16 in the ALDS and had three home runs in the final two games of the series, including two Statcast-projected 440+ foot home runs in Game 3. He led the way with eight RBIs in the ALDS after leading the AL with 28 RBIs after Sept. 1.
The Astros need to get Tucker (2-for-14 with six strikeouts in the ALDS) going, along with Bregman (3-for-15 in the ALDS with six strikeouts).
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