Rangers force Game 7 in ALCS as Astros lose at home again

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All momentum was on the Houston Astros' side after a ninth inning for the ages in Game 5, but the Texas Rangers didn't hear a fat lady sing.

The Rangers forced a Game 7 in the American League Championship Series on Sunday with a 9-2 win over Houston.

It was the Astros who struck first – who else but Yordan Alvarez to get things going with an RBI single – before Mitch Garver launched a solo homer in the top of the second to tie it, and Jonah Heim’s two-run shot in the fourth gave Texas a 3-1 lead.

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Jonah Heim #28 of the Texas Rangers celebrates after hitting a two-run homer against Framber Valdez #59 of the Houston Astros during the fourth inning in Game 6 of the ALCS at Minute Maid Park on Oct. 22, 2023, in Houston, Texas.  (Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)

Houston opened up the bottom of the sixth with back-to-back singles, and two batters later, Mauricio Dubon’s sac fly cut their deficit to a run. The lead run came to the plate in the seventh, which knocked Nathan Eovaldi out of the game, but Michael Brantley grounded into an inning-ending double play. 

Garver added insurance with an RBI double in the top of the eighth off Bryan Abreu, who appealed his two-game suspension that was handed to him after MLB deemed he intentionally hit Adolis Garcia (whom he had struck out right before Garver’s two-bagger).

The lead run came to the plate with one out in the bottom of the eighth, and Rangers manager Bruce Bochy went with closer José Leclerc. He promptly walked Kyle Tucker to load the bases, but Dubon lined out to short, and Jon Singleton, pinch-hitting for defending ALCS and World Series