Astros even ALCS with blowout win over Rangers

The Houston Astros were on their deathbed before Game 3 – now, all the momentum is theirs.

The Astros took Game 4 of the American League Championship Series on Thursday to tie the series at two games apiece.

The Texas Rangers took both games that were played in Houston earlier this week, so the Astros were down in a 2-0 before even playing a road game. Houston has struggled at home all season, but they’ve also dominated on the road, and that’s what they continued to do on Thursday in their 10-3 win.

The Astros bats got going as soon as the game started. Jose Altuve doubled, Mauricio Dubon singled, Alex Bregman tripled, and Yordan Alvarez singled to bring in three Astros runs before an out was recorded, as Andrew Heaney was unable to get out of the first inning.

But Texas was able to chip away. In the second inning, Adolis Garcia hit a solo homer to get the Rangers on the board, and a Josh Jung sac fly brought in their second run. In the next frame, Corey Seager tied it up with a solo shot of his own.

However, Houston turned it on in the fourth. Alvarez missed a grand slam by about a foot, but he had to live with a sac fly that gave the Astros a 4-3 lead. The next batter in Jose Abreu, though, made sure his hard-hit fly ball was never to be seed again, as he blasted a three-run homer to put the Astros up four.

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Chas McCormick added a two-run blast in the seventh, and Alvarez pitched in with another RBI with a single in the eighth.

Jose Urquidy lasted just 2.1 innings, but the Astros bullpen of Ryne Stanek, Hunter Brown, Phil Maton, and Rafael Montero combined for 6.2 scoreless innings in relief.

Altuve had three hits, and Alvarez’s two hits pumped his postseason average to .419. Dubon is hitting .471 this postseason, as well.

Jordan Montgomery will look to keep his top-notch pitching going and get the Rangers back in the win column, while future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander will aim to bring his Astros one win away from their third-straight World Series appearance.