Playoff Perfection! Texas Rangers Hold On To Take ALCS Game 2 Over Astros, Win 7th Straight

The Texas Rangers took a big lead early and held on for dear life to beat the Houston Astros in ALCS Game 2 at Minute Maid Park.

HOUSTON — Two more wins.

The Texas Rangers took a decisive 2-0 lead against the Houston Astros in their best-of-seven American League Championship Series Monday afternoon at Minute Maid Park.

The Rangers scored four times in the first inning against Astros ace Framber Valdez and held on for dear life for a 5-4 win.

The Rangers are two wins away from reaching their first World Series since 2011.

"We just have to keep our heads down, keep that tunnel vision right there," Texas starter Nathan Eovaldi said. "We've got six more wins to go."

NASTY. NATE. pic.twitter.com/FQr60pmNJL

— Texas Rangers (@Rangers) October 16, 2023

Texas remains a spotless 7-0 in the postseason after sweeping both the Tampa Bay Rays and Baltimore Orioles in the Wild Card and ALDS.

The ALCS moves to Globe Life Field in Arlington for Games 3, 4, and 5, if necessary. The teams have Tuesday off before Game 3 at 7:03 p.m. Wednesday.

The Rangers offense chased Astros starter Framber Valdez after 2 2/3 innings and 64 pitches. His two-out, bases-empty walk to the Rangers' No. 9 hitter Leody Taveras was enough for manager Dusty Baker.

Jonah Heim ripped a 1-2 cutter 408 feet into the Crawford Boxes in left field to start the inning. Heim's homer gave Texas a 5-1 lead and matched Yordan Alvarez's solo homer in the previous inning.

Eovaldi was excellent for Texas. He held the Astros to three runs on five hits and walk and struck out nine over six innings. He improved to 3-0 in the postseason. He won the Rangers'  series-clinching games in the Wild Card and ALDS.

"I feel like we're trying to ride that wave right now," Eovaldi said. "We've got a really good momentum going for us."

Yordan Alvarez hit solo homers in the second and eighth innings, and Alex Bregman hit a solo homer in the fourth, but Jose Leclerc took over for Aroldis Chapman and closed it out with a four-out save.

ALCS Game 2: Rangers 5, Astros 4

Here at the key takeaways from ALCS Game 2 Monday at Minute Maid Park:

Long Time, No Consecutive Wins

It had been a while.
The last time the Rangers won consecutive games at Minute Maid Park, Evan Carter was still in high school. The Rangers won on back-to-back days in Houston on Monday for the first time since July 27-29, 2018. The Rangers swept the Astros behind solid starts from Yovani Gallardo, Ariel Jurado, and Mike Minor.

Jonah Heim Catches Select Company

Rangers catcher Jonah Heim hit his first postseason home run in the third inning Monday. He's the fifth catcher in club history to homer in the playoffs.

The other Rangers catchers, with total homers:

3, Mike Napoli
2, Bengie Molina
1, Robinson Chirinos, Jonah Heim, and Matt Treanor

Grand Rangers Opening

The Rangers' four-run first inning Monday the most runs in an opening inning of a postseason game in club history. It's the fifth time in the 2023 postseason that Texas has scored four or more runs in an inning. 

The Rangers' five hits in the first inning are the most ever for the club in the first inning of a postseason game. It's just the seventh time Texas has produced five more hits in a postseason inning. Three of the seven games have come in the past two weeks.

Up Next

Rangers right-hander Max Scherzer returns from the injury list to start Game 3 against Astros starter Cristian Javier. First pitch is scheduled for 7:03 p.m. Wednesday at Globe Life Field.

Astros' Yordan Alvarez Is Sick And Dusty Baker Says Join The Club

You can follow Stefan Stevenson on Twitter @StefanVersusTex.

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