Arlington Astros? Texas Rangers Ready to 'Bounce Back' in ALCS, Reclaim Globe Life Field From Houston

The Texas Rangers are 1-8 against the Houston Astros at Globe Life Field this season with one American League Championship Series game remaining in Arlington.

ARLINGTON, Texas – It’s down to be a best-of-three.

The Texas Rangers, once in firm control of the American League Championship Series, are down to one game left at Globe Life Field and needing two wins to advance to the World Series.

It’s been a frustrating two days in Arlington.

"We had to win four either way, so if we have to take it all the way then we’ll take it all the way,” Rangers first baseman Nathaniel Lowe said. “Ideally, we would’ve liked to have a little bit more momentum going into [Game 5] but that’s a good team and it’s no surprise to see them fight the way they fought."

The Houston Astros recovered from losing the first two games at home to Texas by pulling the same road trick. Now, the defending champs regained the homefield advantage.

And the nickname “Arlington Astros,” which the FS1 broadcast crew used after Thursday night’s 10-3 Houston win.

The Houston Astros are 8-1 at Globe Life Field in 2023, including 2-0 in the ALCS / © Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

The Astros are 18-3 in their last 21 road playoff games. They’re 8-1 this season at Globe Life Field, winning the last seven in a row.

Why are the Astros so good in Arlington?

“I have no clue, to be honest with you,” said Alex Bregman, whose two-run triple in the first inning scored Jose Altuve and Mauricio Dubon for a quick 2-0 lead.

“I think Altuve just does a great job of coming out and setting the tone for us. Dubon right after that. But I don’t know, I couldn’t tell you. But I think the focus has been really good in the clubhouse.”

Houston manager Dusty Baker was also at a loss when asked about the success in Globe Life Field. But despite being annoyed by the roof being open in Game 4, Baker said the stadium is conducive to hitting.

“I know our guys see the ball well here, and the ball carries here,” he said. “I know it carries here, the dimensions are probably larger here than in our ballpark. And some ballparks you like hitting in and some ballparks you don’t.”

Even with back-to-back losses, the Rangers can return to Houston with a 3-2 lead by just winning one game at Globe Life Field. That last chance is Friday afternoon in Game 5 with Jordan Montgomery going for his second victory in the series.

“Pretty confident every time I go out there,” Montgomery said. “Moving good, throwing well. But it’s playoffs. If you’re not excited to go out there and just compete, then something’s wrong.”

The lefty has been clutch since coming to Texas before the trade deadline and on through the playoffs. Outside of maybe Nathan Eovaldi, the Rangers would rather have no one else but Monty on the mound. (Eovaldi is expected to start Game 6 on Sunday in Houston.)

The thing is the Astros feel the same about Justin Verlander, a tough-luck loser in the series opener Sunday.

“We saw the other night I was a little erratic early on, and started to get better as the game went on,” Verlander said. “I’m hopeful, although you still don’t know, I’m hopeful that that will be something I can piggyback off of since I didn’t have a long rest.”

The winner of Game 5 in a best-of-seven series tied 2-2 goes on to claim the series 71% of the time in MLB history.

“I always like my chances with this club,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “They’ve battled all year. We’re playing a good team. Nobody thought it was going to be easy. I’ve been in this kind of situation where we have to bounce back. And that’s what we need to do.

“They have played very well in this ballpark. We need to change that. We know it. But it’s all going to be us pitching better and scoring some runs.”

Key to Slowing Astros? Sabotage Clubhouse Meals!

You can follow Art Garcia on Twitter @ArtGarcia92.

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