Emotions Boiling Over for Texas Rangers, Houston Astros Going Into ALCS Game 6

There won't be any lack of competitive fire with so much on the line for the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros in Game 6 of the American League Championship Series.

There are lineups and pitching changes and defensive alignments and luck and all sorts of strategy that goes into every baseball game. And it’s all magnified and scrutinized even more in the postseason.

There’s also a human quality that can’t be planned for but is always present, too.

Emotion.

That’s spilling over the lip of the pot, as emotions from the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros have reached a boiling point going into Game 6 of the American League Championship Series.

So much is riding on the Sunday night matchup at Minute Maid Park. The Astros are one victory away from going back to the World Series to defend their crown. The Rangers need a win to stay alive and force a deciding Game 7 on Monday.

Rangers' Game 6 starter Nathan Eovaldi is 3-0 in the playoffs with a 2.29 ERA / Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Texas is sending Nathan Eovaldi – 3-0 in the playoffs with a 2.29 ERA – to the hill opposite Framber Valdez. Those two also squared off in Game 2.

The Rangers were three outs from take a 3-2 series lead back to Houston, but the Astros rallied in the ninth for a 5-4 victory Friday in an unforgettable Game 5. Momentum-turning home runs from Adolis García and Jose Altuve, a bench-clearing scrum, and ejections and suspensions are just part of a story that won’t go away any time soon.

The big takeaway, at least for the Rangers, was the loss that left their season on the brink.

“I’ll say this about the club, they’ve been tested all year,” Texas manager Bruce Bochy said. “You know that. You’ve been watching. I don’t know how many times I’ve been asked, Are they being tested?

“And each time they just found a way, so that’s what I’m proud about with these guys. And trust me, it’s a tough loss.”

The phrase “roller coaster” has been thrown around a lot to describe the ALCS and the seasons for both Lone Star rivals.

“Yeah, just reminds me of how this entire season has gone for us,” Rangers second baseman Marcus Semien said. “Certain expectations of what our roster may look like. And now what it looks like, they are different. Talk about losing [Jacob] deGrom and just certain injuries that we had in the beginning of the year.

“And now where we are, definitely a different team in terms of the way we’ve gone on streaks and had cold streaks, and just certain games we thought we had won that we didn’t win, we’ve been through it. We win two games in the beginning of the series. You get home, you have high expectations to at least pick up one or two. Didn’t happen. But that’s how this season has gone.”

Houston manager Dusty Baker referenced how the emotions of the playoffs, plus the familiarity between the two clubs, played a part in the benches clearing late in Game 5.

“Have you ever gotten in an argument with your mom or your dad or your brothers? I mean, it happens,” he said. “And you don’t script it. It’s a spontaneous, combustible reaction that gets out of control.

“And most of us want to be under control. Most of us want to play ball. Most don’t want to box. But if it comes to that, most of the time you feel terrible after, but during it gets out of control.”

Control is what the Rangers want in Game 6. They had it early in the series.

“We’re excited for the challenge,” Semien said.

Reasons Why Rangers Win ALCS Game 6

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