ALCS Game Three open thread

The battle for Texas moves up to I-45 to Arlington tonight. The Texas Rangers won the first two games of this ALCS on the road and will look to take a commanding 3-0 series lead. The Houston Astros, meanwhile, will need to battle back. Oddly, the Astros have been much better on the road than at home this season, so perhaps this trip is just what they need.

Texas is making their first ALCS appearance since 2011, when they also started the series 2-0. They eventually won the series in six games. Houston, meanwhile, is in their seventh straight ALCS. They have only lost the first two games of the series once before, in 2020. That year, they battled back from down 3-0 against the Tampa Bay Rays to force a Game Seven, but they lost the decisive matchup.

Texas will start Max Scherzer, making his return from a teres major injury. Scherzer is coming off one of his worst regular season campaigns and has spotty postseason track record, but he’s probably still a better option than Andrew Heaney. Houston will counter with Cristian Javier, who had a disappointing 2023 but has a strong history in October.