Rangers Turn Tables On Astros, Win With Great Pitching & Dingers

Bruce Bochy and the Texas Rangers had no margin for error in Game 6. Bochy knows he has a shaky bullpen. He knows there only two relievers he can count on to come into a tight game and get the job done—Josh Sborz and Jose Leclerc. Bochy knows that he has to make the exact right bullpen move at the exact right time or everything will fall apart.

As he did so many times when managing the San Francisco Giants to three World Series Championships, Bochy made all the right moves at the exact right time in Game 6. Now the Rangers will face off against the Houston Astros in Game 7 Monday night at Minute Maid Park.

Bochy has never lost a Game 7 in the postseason.

Sunday night, Texas jumped out to a 3-1 lead by the 4th inning on a Mitch Garver solo homer and a 2-run dinger from Jonah Heim that eked just past the outstretched glove of Astros right fielder Kyle Tucker.

Rangers starter Nathan Eovaldi pitched like his nickname (Big Game Nate). He gave Bochy 6 1/3 innings and gave the Astros only 2 runs on 5 hits and 3 walks. Eovaldi threw only 88 pitches—10 fewer than he pitched in his Wild Card Series and the Division Series appearances—and when Bochy took him out in favor of Sborz, I shook my head.

Sure, Eovaldi had allowed the Astros’ 2nd run to make the game 3-2 Rangers in the 6th, but I just couldn’t see how Bochy was going to get 8 outs from Sborz and Leclerc. I was confident Bochy would avoid using Aroldis Chapman at all costs because Chapman can be wild and give up dingers at the drop of a hat.

This is one of many reasons why Bruce Bochy is a Hall of Fame manager and I’m writing baseball newsletters.

With Jose Altuve on first base and one out in the 7th, Sborz entered the game to face Michael Brantley. Sborz couldn’t find the strike zone with his first two pitches. “Why’d you take out Eovaldi?” I yelled to no one in particular. Sborz came back with two nasty fastballs at the bottom of the zone to even the count to 2-2. Then Sborz tied Brantley up with an 85 mph curveball that Brantley hit weakly to second. Marcus Semien and Corey Seager turned a nice double play that had Rangers’ first baseman Nathaniel Lowe splayed out in the dirt to catch the relay and keep his foot on the bag.

Score one for Bochy.

The Rangers added a huge insurance run in the 8th inning off Bryan Abreu. Evan Carter hit an infield single and after Adolis Garcia struck out, Mitch Garver whacked a double to score Carter. That was Garver’s third hit of the night.

[As you likely heard, MLB suspended Abreu for two games for intentionally throwing at Garcia in Game 5—a play that led to the benches clearing. Abreu appealed his suspension and was permitted to play in Game 6 while the appeal was pending. It’s been reported that Abreu’s appeal will be heard on Monday, but it’s unclear when the final decision will be issued or whether the suspension—if upheld—would begin with Game 7 or be put over to the 2024 season.]

As Sborz needed only 5 pitches to get out of the 7th inning jam, he came back out to pitch the bottom of the 8th, now with a 4-2 lead. But Sborz loaded the bases on 2 walks and a single. That’s when Leclerc came in to put the fire out. He got Mauricio Dubon to line out to Corey Seager for the second out. Then Leclerc went to a 3-2 count on pinch hitter Jon Singleton and struck him out on a 92 mph cutter up in the zone. So up, that it might have been Ball 4 had Singleton held up.

Score two for Bochy.

In the 9th, the Astros’ bullpen did their best Rangers’ bullpen imitation. Rafael Montero loaded the bases and Ryan Stanek hit Seager before giving up a grand slam to Garcia. Astros fans booed Garcia mercilessly during the game. Those boos were loudest after each of Garcia’s 4 strikeouts.

Revenge is so sweet.

The grand slam put the Rangers ahead 9-2. And it took the pressure off Bochy to be absolutely perfect with his pitching moves in the bottom of the 9th. Even so, Andrew Heaney came in and retired the Astros in order to seal the Game 6 win.

Score three for Bochy. And Game 6 for the Rangers.

Tonight’s Game 7 will put Bochy’s bullpen magic to the test. Max Scherzer will start for Texas. Cristian Javier will start for the Astros in a rematch of Game 3. Scherzer only pitched 4 innings and gave up 5 runs on 5 hits, 1 walk and 1 hit batter. Three of those runs came in the 2nd inning and Bochy left Scherzer in because what other options did he have?

With a Game 7, all options are on the table. All pitchers—save for Eovaldi—will be available to pitch in any inning, against any batter. The World Series starts Friday, so whatever happens in this game, there will be plenty of time for rest and recuperation.

Still, I’m having a hard time seeing how Bochy gets to 27 outs without a lot of Astros runs on the board unless vintage Max Scherzer shows up.

For his part, Dusty Baker can expect to get 5 good innings from Javier, who has transformed himself into a postseason pitching wizard. He did allow 2 runs in Game 3—his first postseason runs allowed since the 2022 ALDS—but mostly kept the Rangers in check. The biggest question for the Astros is whether Bryan Abreu will be suspended or available. Either way, Baker has much better bullpen options than Bochy, at least judging by the relievers’ regular and postseason stats. (Yes, I’m still bitter about Game 6 of the 2002 World Series).

Game 7 will kick off at 8:00 pm EDT/5:00 pm PDT tonight on Fox.

NLCS Game 6 between the Phillies and D’Backs will start at 5:00 pm EDT/2:00 pm PDT on TBS. Aaron Nola will start for the Phillies. Merrill Kelly will take the mound for Arizona.