García powers Rangers to first World Collection since 2011 with 11-4 rout of Astros in Recreation 7 of ALCS

HOUSTON (AP) — Adolis García and these road-happy Rangers should not solely tops in Texas — they’re greatest within the American League.

García homered twice and drove in 5 runs because the Texas Rangers reached their first World Collection in 12 years with an 11-4 blowout of the Houston Astros in Recreation 7 of the AL Championship Collection on Monday evening.

Corey Seager received issues began for the Rangers with an extended dwelling run within the first inning. Nathaniel Lowe additionally went deep to offer Texas — certainly one of six main league groups with no World Collection title — its first berth within the Fall Basic since consecutive journeys in 2010 and 2011.

García homered for the fourth straight recreation and set a document for RBIs in a postseason sequence with 15. He had 4 hits, scored thrice and was the plain alternative for ALCS MVP in a sequence that noticed the street group win each recreation.

“He’s a nasty man, isn’t he?” Seager mentioned. “To have the ability to come into this environment and get booed each at-bat and do what he did was actually particular. It was actually enjoyable to look at.”

After successful their Lone Star State showdown with rival Houston, the resilient Rangers open an all-wild card World Collection at dwelling Friday evening in opposition to Arizona or Philadelphia, who play the decisive Recreation 7 of their NLCS on Tuesday evening.

Bruce Bochy, who got here out of retirement this season to handle the Rangers, turned the primary skipper to win a League Championship Collection with three totally different groups, after main San Diego and San Francisco to NL pennants.

He’s spearheaded a swift turnaround with Texas, making its first playoff look since 2016 after shedding 102 video games in 2021 and going 68-94 final 12 months.

“I didn’t know if I’d get again in it. And right here I’m. I understand how blessed I’m,” Bochy mentioned. “We’ve had our streaks. We’ve had our accidents. They hold getting up. To return in right here and beat such a fantastic group like Houston — and congrats on their 12 months. However it’s nice to be carrying the horns in Texas.”

In the meantime, the defending World Collection champion Astros have been lastly dethroned.

Fittingly, it got here at dwelling, the place they went 40-47 this 12 months and 0-4 on this sequence. They gained all three video games at Texas and got here dwelling a win shy of their third straight pennant, however Houston’s pitching workers received pounded for 20 runs within the remaining two video games of the group’s seventh consecutive ALCS.

No membership has repeated as World Collection champion for the reason that New York Yankees gained three straight from 1998-2000.

“I don’t like tipping my cap to anyone,” Astros supervisor Dusty Baker mentioned. “However when somebody beats the hell out of you, what are you going to do?

“We’ve got been spoiled round right here so far as successful and successful and successful. And heck, I’ve been right here 4 years, and we’ve been to 2 World Collection and two Championship Collection. We’ve got nothing to be ashamed of or nothing to carry our head down about. We’re down, however we’re not out. And each group in baseball would commerce to have had the final 4 years that we’ve had.”

Texas led the AL West for a lot of the 12 months, solely to squander the division crown to Houston with a loss at Seattle on the ultimate day of the common season that despatched the streaky Rangers on the street to start the playoffs.

Seems, that was no downside.

They’ve gone 8-0 away from dwelling in these playoffs, becoming a member of the 1996 Yankees as the one groups to win their first eight street video games in a single postseason.

“This group proper right here, we’re household, and so they push me each day to play laborious,” García mentioned.

Jordan Montgomery, usually a starter, got here out of the bullpen on two days’ relaxation and pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings for the win. The massive left-hander, acquired from St. Louis on the commerce deadline, improved to 3-0 with a 2.16 ERA this postseason.

Texas starter Max Scherzer, acquired from the Mets in July, allowed 4 hits and two runs with two walks in 2 2/3 innings. However the Rangers took benefit of an early flop by Cristian Javier.

Texas jumped on Javier instantly and tagged him for 3 runs, highlighted by Seager’s second-deck shot, earlier than he was lifted with only one out within the first. It was the primary time Javier misplaced a playoff begin, after coming into the sport 4-0 with a 0.82 ERA in 4 profession postseason begins.

Seager, in his second season with Texas after signing a 10-year, $325 million contract, had three hits after beginning the sequence 5 for 26.

García slugged his sixth dwelling run this postseason to make it 4-1 within the third earlier than the Astros minimize it to 2 on a solo homer by Alex Bregman within the backside of the inning.

Texas broke issues open with a four-run fourth that featured a two-run double by rookie Evan Carter and a two-run single by García.

After hitting a grand slam to punctuate a 9-2 win in Recreation 6, García led the cost Monday. He had 15 RBIs within the sequence to interrupt the document set by Nelson Cruz with 13 for Texas within the 2011 ALCS.

The slugger was booed all through the sport for a second straight evening after being on the middle of a bench-clearing scuffle in Recreation 5 after being hit by a pitch from Astros reliever Bryan Abreu.

García appeared to thrill in enjoying the street villain. When he opened the third inning together with his shot to proper discipline, he watched because the ball sailed over the fence earlier than slowly taking just a few steps towards first base. He then dropped his bat, rotated and skipped backward for just a few ft whereas smiling broadly at his cheering dugout earlier than trotting across the bases.

The Cuban outfielder added a solo shot within the eighth to offer him seven homers and 20 RBIs this postseason, passing Houston slugger Yordan Alvarez (six) for essentially the most dwelling runs within the playoffs this 12 months.

García’s dwelling run streak is tied for fourth-longest in postseason historical past.

It was solely the second time the street group gained each recreation in a best-of-seven postseason sequence. The Astros have been additionally on the flawed finish of the opposite one, dropping 4 dwelling video games in a loss to Washington within the 2019 World Collection, when Scherzer additionally pitched Recreation 7 in Houston for the Nationals.

Texas and Houston had similar regular-season data (90-72), with the AL West title going to the Astros on a head-to-head tiebreaker. Tied as soon as once more coming into this recreation, the Rangers got here out on high when it mattered most.

Texas’ win assured a 3rd all-wild card World Collection, the primary since Bochy’s Giants beat Kansas Metropolis in 2014.

Jose Altuve hit his twenty seventh profession postseason homer within the ninth for Houston, two behind Manny Ramirez for many all-time.