A home run in the ninth inning by Venezuelan José Altuve with two on base gave the Houston Astros a 5-run victory over the Texas Rangers this Friday. and go ahead 3-2 in the American League Championship Series.
Previously, in the sixth inning, Cuban Adolis García had sent a ball into the street with two men in circulation before being sent off and had put the Rangers in front 4 by 2.
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The Astros took a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven ALCS, moving closer to a World Series victory.but intense emotions overflowed on the field after García's hit in the sixth inning.
The Texas outfielder was hit by a pitch in the eighth inning from Puerto Rican reliever Bryan Abreu, sparking a fight that cleared the benches and in which both the players and Astros manager Dusty Baker were ejected.
The sixth game of this series will take place on Sunday in Houstonheadquarters of the defending champions.
The aggressiveness of the defending champions was seen from the beginning when third baseman Alex Bregman hit a solo homer to make it 1-0 in the first inning.
After one out, Texas threatened in the third with a walk by Mitch Garver and a single by Jonah Heim, but star Justin Verlander ended the inning with flies to first and left field by Marcus Semien and Corey Seager, respectively.
In the fifth, Texas looked ugly when Kyle Tucker, who had reached base on a single, reached third on an error by Semien in an attempt to force a double play, but pitcher Jordan Montgomery forced Altuve to tag the catcher to first. .
The Rangers tied it (1-1) in the fifth inning thanks to a home run by Nathaniel Lowe against Verlander in left field.
The Astros scored one more in the sixth with a walk to Bregman and shrapnel from Cubans Yordan Alvarez and José Abreu, enough for Montgomery to leave the mound.
At the close of that chapter, Cuban García hit a four-corner shot with two men on base so the Rangers went ahead 4x2.
The fateful chapter was opened by Seager with a double, followed by Evan Carter with a single and a home run by Cuban García, his fourth of these playoffs.
The victory went to closer Ryan Pressly (1-0) and the setback to fellow Dominican closer José Leclerc (0-1).
Astros in search of their fifth world series
The champion Astros are still clinging to their fifth trip to a World Series in seven seasons.
If they achieve another crown, the Astros would become the first champion to repeat in the World Series since the Yankees did it three times in a row between 1998 and 2000.
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