'There's no panic here' - Astros win Game 3, close gap in ALCS - ESPN

ARLINGTON, Texas — If the Houston Astros are going to do the unprecedented, and add another thrilling chapter to their distinguished legacy, it's going to take practically everybody. It's going to take more nights like Wednesday, when timely hits and big catches and clutch pitching performances throughout their roster sparked a desperately needed 8-5 road win over the Texas Rangers in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series.

«There was no other option,» Astros designated hitter Yordan Alvarez said in Spanish. «The only mentality was to go out and win. I've said it before — there's no panic here. We showed that.»

No team throughout history — aside from the 2020 postseason, staged mostly in a bubble amid the COVID-19 pandemic — lost two home games to begin a league championship series and went on to advance. Few teams, however, are built like these Astros, who have reached their seventh consecutive ALCS and have overcome enough adversity in that time to fill a memoir. In their minds, they've faced bigger challenges than winning four out of five playoff games.

«We've been punched in the mouth a lot during the postseason over the last seven years,» Astros third baseman Alex Bregman said. «We just try to continue to show up and try to continue to work.»

Max Scherzer returned from a teres major strain to make his first start in a little over five weeks and didn't pitch past the fourth inning. The Astros strung together three runs in the second, scoring on a couple of wild pitches and a two-run single from No. 9-hitting catcher Martin Maldonado. Jose Altuve added a home run to lead off the third, and Mauricio Dubon cranked a run-scoring single with one out in the fourth, his second of three hits, giving the Astros a