Recapping Season Series Between Texas Rangers, Houston Astros

As the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros prepare for the ALCS, the season series between the Lone Star State rivals featured plenty of ups and downs.

The Texas Rangers and Houston Astros are meeting for the first time in the postseason in the American League Championship Series.

The Astros won the season series 9-4. Here’s how it all unfolded, series by series.

Rangers vs. Astros Season Series

Here is how the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros did against each other in their 2023 season series.

April 14-16 at Houston (Rangers 2-1)

The Rangers won two of their first three meetings of the season which took place at Minute Maid Park. Texas won the opener 6-1 and finale 9-1, while the Astros won the middle game 8-2.

Martín Pérez claimed the victory for the Rangers in Game 1, while Houston’s Luis Garcia took the loss and later saw his season end due to injury. Adolis García and Nathaniel Lowe provided the Rangers’ offense, as they combined to drive in five runs. Houston’s Yordan Alvarez hit his fourth home run.

The Astros exploded in Game 2 and Rangers starter Jon Gray exited in the third inning after taking a comebacker off his leg. His relief, Cole Ragans, took the loss as Alvarez drove in three runs and Jeremy Peña drove in two more. Houston starter Hunter Brown earned the win. The Rangers’ only offense came from runs driven in by García and Marcus Semien.

Game 3 saw the Rangers’ bats explode, as Semien homered and drove in four runs, while Jonah Heim and Leody Taveras each drove in two runs. Rangers reliever Brock Burke got the win, but starter Andrew Heaney threw five shutout innings. Houston starter Framber Valdez was saddled with the loss for the Astros, giving up five runs in six innings. Alex Bregman drove in the Astros’ only run.

The Rangers left Houston with a 1.5-game lead in the AL West.

June 30-July 3 at Arlington (Astros 3-1)

The Rangers entered the series up four games on the Astros as they met for the first time in Arlington. But the Astros ended up taking three of the four games. Houston won the opener 5-3, and the final two games 5-3 and 12-11. The Rangers victory came in the second game of the series, 5-2.

In Game 1, the Astros rallied with three runs in the sixth inning. Gray took the loss for the Rangers, giving up seven hits and five earned runs in six innings. Jose Altuve — in his first game against the Rangers since returning from an injury — led off the game with a home run. But it was Mauricio Dubón that drove in two runs for Houston.

The Rangers turned it around in Game 2, as Nathan Eovaldi won his 10th game by allowing no runs and two hits in seven innings. Semien, Corey Seager, Josh Jung and Travis Jankowski each drove in a run for the Rangers. Kyle Tucker’s ninth-inning home run helped the Astros avoid a shutout. Brown got the loss for the Astros.

Game 3 was dramatic, as Chas McCormick’s three-run triple broke a 1-1 tie in the eighth inning and gave Houston the lead, while Altuve’s ninth-inning home run gave the Astros some cushion. Lowe homered in the eight to drive in two runs and cut the Astros’ three-run lead to one run. But the Rangers bullpen couldn’t hold, as Josh Sborz took the loss after giving up McCormick’s triple. Heaney threw five innings of shutout baseball.

The finale was incredible. At one point Houston led 10-2, but the Rangers rallied to take an 11-10 lead and the Houston won the game in the ninth with back-to-back RBI doubles by José Abreu and McCormick.

García, Jankowski and Taveras homered for the Rangers. Jankowski drove in five runs.

Four different Astros homered — McCormick, Yainer Diaz, Tucker and Abreu.

As Houston left Arlington, the Rangers had a three-game lead in the AL West.

At Houston, July 24-26 (Astros, 2-1)

The Astros hosted the Rangers for three game in late July and the Rangers held a three-game lead in the AL West. The Astros won two of the three games, claiming victories in Game 1 (10-9) and Game 2 (4-3), while the Rangers won the finale (13-5).

The Rangers lost the first game in walk-off fashion, as a Diaz single to left field off Rangers reliever Alex Speas scored Tucker to end the game. Tucker and Abreu each drove in three runs for Houston, as Ryan Pressly claimed the win in relief. Speas took the loss, while Texas got home runs from Jung and Josh Smith, with seven different Rangers driving in runs.

The Astros got the lead early in Game 2 and held it together as the Rangers rallied in the ninth with a two-run home run by Mitch Garver, which cut Houston’s lead to one run. But Pressly held on for save No. 24 for starter J.P. France, who improved to 6-3. The Rangers started reliever Yerry Rodriguez in place of Eovaldi, who was held out of the series due to an arm issue. But it was Cody Bradford who went five innings in relief, but also gave up the two runs that gave the Astros a 4-1 lead. Tucker and Martín Maldonado both hit home runs for the Astros.

The Rangers went off on offense in the finale, as they scored 11 runs in the fourth and fifth innings as Valdez and the Astros pitching staff took a beating. Lowe, Semien, García and Sam Huff all hit home runs for the Rangers, as Heaney cruised to a relatively easy win in his third start against the Astros. Bregman homered and drove in three runs for the Astros. Semien was also ejected from this game after he and Maldonado exchanged words at the plate when Semien scored a run.

The Rangers left Houston with a two-game lead in the AL West.

Sept. 4-6, at Arlington (Astros, 3-0)

The Rangers entered the series having lost their lead in the AL West and were behind the Astros by one game. It got no better for Texas as Houston swept the series with victories of 13-6, 14-1 and 12-3.

The Astros finally got something meaningful done against Heaney, as he gave up three earned runs and five hits in 4 1/3 innings but left with a no-decision, as Sborz got the loss. The game was close early but got out of hand late as the Astros pummeled the Rangers bullpen. Dubón and Altuve each homered twice, while Diaz hit one. Seager, Garver and Smith each homered for Texas.

In Game 2, the Rangers managed just six hits and one run off Valdez, a pitcher they had done well against earlier in the season. Eovaldi made his first start since coming off the injured list and went just 1 1/3 innings and gave up four earned runs for the loss. Dane Dunning took a beating out of the bullpen, giving up nine runs. Semien drove in the Rangers’ only run. Altuve hit three home runs, while Maldonado and Alvarez each homered.

The Astros scored seven innings in the first three innings of the finale and never looked back. Justin Verlander pitched seven innings and gave up four hits and two runs, while Max Scherzer — making his first start against the Astros with the Rangers — gave up six hits and seven earned runs in three innings. Semien hit two home runs in the game, which accounted for all of Texas’ offense. Abreu homered twice, while Alvarez, Michael Brantley and McCormick each homered once.

The Rangers saw the Astros leave town with a three-game lead in the AL West.

Houston Astros Enjoy Facing Lefties

You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.

Catch up with Inside the Rangers on Facebook, Twitter, TikTok and Instagram.