Postseason 2023 | Two home runs by Yordan Álvarez were not enough, Adolis with RBI in Game 2 victory

Cuban MLB Players News for the 2023 postseason. A compendium from several sources

Oct 16

American League Championship Series

Rangers 5, Astros 4

Rangers lead 2-0

A home run by Jonah Heim and six effective innings from Nathan Eovaldi helped Texas beat Framber Valdez and the Houston Astros 5-4 on Monday for a 2-0 lead in the American League Championship Series.

With six wins on the road, the Rangers improved to 7-0 in the playoffs. In the ALCS opener, they beat Houston 2-0 after sweeping the Rays and Orioles in the Wild Card Series.

The Rangers' first inning featured three RBI singles by Adolis Garca, Mitch Garver and Nathaniel Lowe, and José Leclerc closed out the game after Yordan Alvarez led a rally for the Astros.

It is the first time since the Astros last season that a team has won its first seven postseason games in MLB history. With an eight-game win streak to start the 2014 postseason, Kansas City holds the record.

Teams taking a 2-0 lead in all best-of-seven postseason series have gone on to win that series 75 of 89 times (84%). In series with the current 2-3-2 format, 26 of 29 teams (90%) to take Games 1-2 on the road have gone on to win, with the 3 exceptions being the 1996 (Yankees), 1986 (Mets) and 1985 (Royals) World Series.

Arlington hosts Game 3 of the best-of-seven series on Wednesday night.

Yordan Álvarez blasted a pair of home runs on Monday afternoon, but it wasn’t enough to power the Astros to victory over the Rangers in Game 2 of the ALCS.

The Rangers jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the first inning of this one, forcing the Astros to have to claw their way back into the game. Alvarez did his part, clobbering a 2-1 fastball from Nathan Eovaldi for a 420-foot (108.6 mph EV) solo shot to get the Astros on the board in the second inning. He also walked in the sixth inning and dashed around to score on an RBI double off the bat of Michael Brantley. Alvarez then tagged Aroldis Chapman for a 385-foot (110.5 mph EV) solo blast with two outs in the eighth inning, trimming their deficit to just one run. That would be as close as they would get though. The 26-year-old slugger is having a phenomenal postseason, hitting .391 (9-for-23) with six homers, eight RBI and 10 runs scored in his first six contests.

Adolis García contributes to victory with RBI.

After a hitless night in Game 1 of the ALCS, Adolis García contributed to a 4-run first inning in Game 2. His performance included going 1-for-3 and scoring a run. He was also hit by a pitch. The only hit he had was an RBI, which brought home Corey Seager to give the Rangers a 2-0 lead in the first inning. A few minutes later, Adolis scored after Nathaniel Lowe singled to left. In his first postseason, Adolis is slashing .258/.281/.484 with 2 home runs and 6 RBI.

No impact from José Abreu in the ALCS.

Abreu has not had the same impact as he did with Houston during the American League Division Series, when he hit three home runs. A solo hit in seven at bats is all Abreu has scored in his first ALCS, batting .143/.250/.143 after two games. He has also struck out four times. On Monday, Abreu went 0-for-3 with one walk and two strikeouts in the 5-4 loss to Texas. In light of the fact that the series moves to Arlington, it is a good opportunity for the Cuban first baseman to analyze what has changed against Texas so far.

Aroldis Chapman allows a run in second outing.

Chapman pitched again in the 8th inning of another close game, and he made it even closer. With two outs, Chapman allowed Yordan Álvarez' sixth home run this postseason, bringing Houston within 4-5. In the presence of José Abreu, manager Bruce Bochy decided to pull out Chapman and bringing closer Jose Leclerc. As a relief pitcher, Chapman made his 40th appearance in a postseason and was credited with the hold. He owns a 5.40 ERA after 1 2/3 innings in this ALCS.

National League Championship Series

Phillies 5, D-backs 3

Phillies lead 1-0

A home run by Bryce Harper on his 31st birthday, Kyle Schwarber's first postseason homer, and another home run by Nick Castellanos led the Philadelphia Phillies to a 5-3 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series.

The defending National League champions won their seventh Game 1 in the last two postseasons behind eight strikeouts from Zack Wheeler. Craig Kimbrel worked a scoreless ninth for the save after José Alvarado recorded four big outs.

Castellanos became the second player to hit five home runs in three postseason games - he hit two in consecutive games against Atlanta. Reggie Jackson did it in the 1977 World Series for the New York Yankees.

Game 2 is Tuesday.

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. had a hitless night.

Gurriel struggled against Wheeler. In the second and fifth innings, the right-hander struck him out twice. Wheeler threw only 9 pitches against the Cuban, who threw three swings in the air of the six strikes he saw. In his next two at-bats Gurriel made two solid contacts, especially the one he hit in the 9th inning that came out at 99.7 mph. But third baseman Alec Bohm completed a 5-4-3 double play with the grounder to end the game. Gurriel went 0-for-4 overall.