2023 MLB Playoffs highlights: Rangers advance to ALCS; Astros blowout Twins in Game 3
A pair of pivotal ALDS Game 3s took place Tuesday on FOX.
Earlier, the Astros dominated the Twins in Minnesota behind two home runs from José Abreu and one each from Alex Bregman and Yordan Álvarez. Cristian Javier worked into and out of jams for five scoreless innings as the defending World Series champions took a 2-1 lead in the series.
The Rangers became the first team to clinch a ticket to the ALCS in the later window. They won the first two games of the series in Baltimore, as Josh Jung hit the game-deciding homer in Game 1, before Mitch Garver helped power the Rangers to a win in Game 2 with a grand slam.
Nathan Eovaldi, who was the team's starter in the regular season (12-5, 3.63 ERA) was superb as usual, striking out seven in seven innings of work, and allowing one run. Corey Seager, Adolis Garcia and Nathaniel Lowe all homered in the affair. It's the first time the Rangers made the ALCS since 2011.
Here are the top plays from Tuesday's games!
FINAL: Texas Rangers 7, Baltimore Orioles 1
Sit 'em down!
Globe Life Field was rocking as Nathan Eovaldi punched out Ryan Mountcastle to end the first inning.
Blasted!
Corey Seager put the Rangers on top in the bottom of the first with a sailing solo shot to left field.
Open it up
Mitch Garver hit a grand slam last time out. The Rangers DH was clutch again with the bases loaded in Game 3, smacking this double down the third base line for two more runs.
Pouring it on!
Talk about rocking the stadium! Adolis Garcia sent the Arlington crowd into a frenzy, following Garver's double with a monster three-run homer to left center field.
On the board
Gunnar Henderson knocked in Baltimore's first run of the game in the fifth. And he may have had a flashback after seeing his teammate's headfirst face plant into home plate.
Watch it fly
Nathaniel Lowe hadn't hit a home run since April before letting it rip on this fastball. You could see the weight drop off his shoulders after he sent the ball into the seats. The jack put Texas up 7-1.
FINAL: Houston Astros 9, Minnesota Twins 1
Astros strike first
Kyle Tucker opened up the scoring for Game 3, capitalizing on the opportunity with runners in scoring position by hitting a single to left field to score a run.
Astros add to it
Right after Tucker hit a single to score a run, Jose Abreu helped get a crooked number on the board for the Astros in the first inning. He demolished Sonny Gray's sweeper to left field, giving the Astros a 4-0 lead in the first inning.
Twins fans get in on the action
In the first postseason with the pitch clock, Twins fans tried to use it to their advantage in the first inning, counting down the seconds as they tried to rattle Cristian Javier.
Out of early trouble
The Twins threatened to cut into the Astros' 4-0 lead in the first inning, getting runners in scoring position. But Javier was able to strike out Carlos Correa with a high fastball to end the inning.
Bregman booms one out
After a few scoreless innings, the Astros resumed the scoring in Game 3 when Alex Bregman took Gray yard. The Astros star third baseman hit a solo shot that just cleared the fence in left field, landing in one of the first rows of the bleachers to make it a 5-0 game.
Afterward, Bregman broke down his homer with Tom Verducci.
Tipped or not?
The Twins were able to create a scoring threat in the bottom of the fifth after the Astros made it a 5-0 game, but not without controversy.
With two runners on board and one out, Jorge Polanco faced a 3-2 count and had the opportunity to score a run or load the bases. He checked his swing on Javier's 3-2 changeup, which landed below the zone, for ball four. However, another angle of Polanco's checked swing made it look like he might have made contact with the ball, making multiple members of the Astros upset.
Javier out of the jam again
While there was some controversy on how the Twins loaded the bases, that wasn't a problem for Javier. The Astros rightly got out of another jam in the fifth inning.
First, he put away Maxi Kepler by getting him to look at a knuckle curve for strike three. In the next at-bat, Javier retired Royce Lewis by getting him to whiff at a slider outside of the zone for strike three, ending the inning.
The two strikeouts gave Javier nine for the day. They were also the last two hitters Javier faced in Game 3, ending his day by pitching five scoreless innings with one hit and five walks.
Bregman brings another home
Kenta Maeda wasn't able to stop the bleeding for the Twins. He allowed a walk and a single in the first two hitters he faced when he entered the game in the sixth. After getting José Altuve to line out, Maeda gave up a run when Bregman hit a single to center, extending the Astros' lead to 6-0.
Minnesota makes its way onto the board
The Twins were finally able to score when Javier's day ended after the fifth inning. Following a single and a walk, Willi Castro got the Twins their first run of the day when he hit a single to right that scored Correa from second to make it a 6-1 game.
Coming up big!
The Twins were threatening to add more runs after they made it a 6-1 game. But, once again, the Astros stepped up. This time, Jeremy Peña made a diving stop at shortstop to get Ryan Jeffers' hard groundball, flipping the ball to second and then to first for the 6-4-3 double play to end the inning.
Yordan AGAIN
Yordan Álvarez added another for Houston with his FOURTH home run in three games this postseason — passing up FOX Sports' own A.J. Pierzynski for second-highest OPS in division series history.
José Abreu to the upper deck!
Abreu gave Houston a 9-1 lead with his second home run of the day, this one reaching the upper deck after the his first-inning blast nearly did. Abreu now has five RBIs across his two homers Tuesday.
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