Jose Abreu's postseason onslaught continues as Astros bash Rangers to tie ALCS

ARLINGTON, Texas – Soon enough, the stars will take the mound again in the American League Championship Series.

But it might have been won Thursday night, when the mound protagonists were not future Hall of Famers like Justin Verlander or Max Scherzer, or proven postseason studs like Framber Valdez or Nathan Eovaldi, but rather a full-staff free-for-all where survival, not dominance, was the watchword.

And nobody survives October quite like the Houston Astros.

On a night neither starter pitched past the third innings, the Astros won a mud-fight of a Game 4 by hammering the ball off Texas Ranger after Ranger and got just enough good fortune on the run prevention side to register a 10-3 victory and square this ALCS 2-2.

The Astros and Rangers are level, with every game in the series won by the road team, and Houston has erased a 2-0 deficit and now will enjoy two of the three remaining scheduled games at home.

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They can thank their sluggers for this one.

The Astros blitzed Rangers starter Andrew Heaney as their first four batters recorded hits, Alex Bregman’s two-run triple and Yordan Alvarez’s single driving in runs for an instant 3-0 lead and Heaney was gone after recording just two outs.

After Texas responded in kind, tying the game and chasing Houston’s Jose Urquidy with one out in the third, Houston responded with a decisive blitz, loading the bases with nobody out in the fourth. Cody Bradford, the lefty reliever, was summoned for Yordan Alvarez.

And they battled through eight pitches, Brdford technically doing his job by getting Alvarez on a flyout to the warning track in center. The sacrifice fly would have been a grand slam in 17 of 30 ballparks.

But that just delayed the inevitable: Jose Abreu mashed a low line drive over the Houston bullpen and into the second level for a three-run homer and a 7-3 lead.

If there was a mound hero, it’d be Hunter Brown, the swingman who covered three innings of two-hit ball, albeit with good fortune. The first two Rangers singled in the bottom of the fifth before Corey Seager scorched a 109-mph line drive right at Abreu. He swiped at Marcus Semien scampering back to first base, but Semien was ruled safe.

Replay review revealed Abreu nicked Semien’s batting glove, protruding from his back pocket. Double play.

Series tied. And a crucial Game 5 lurking Friday afternoon. 

Chas McCormick home run gives Astros more breathing room

ARLINGTON, Texas - Chas McCormick hit a two-run home run that stretched the Houston Astros' lead to 9-3 in the seventh inning of ALCS Game 4, but his shot off reliever Will Smith on Thursday night might have longer-lasting implications. 

In taking the game from a four-run Astros lead to a six-run bulge, McCormick might have ensured the Astros stay away from their best relievers - Hector Neris, Bryan Abreu and closer Ryan Pressly - after they all worked Game 3. 

Now, should the Astros hold on and square the series 2-2, all will be rested for a crucial Game 5 at Globe Life Field on Friday afternoon. 

Phil Maton came on in relief in the seventh inning, the Astros needing nine more outs to equalize. 

– Gabe Lacques

Astros lead 7-3 after Jose Abreu's home run

ARLINGTON, Texas - Cody Bradford is a game young pitcher, a tall lefty who competes with a 91 mph fastball and a changeup he employs often. And despite this underwhelming repertoire, he gamely competed in the most undesirable spot manager Bruce Bochy could place him: Bases loaded, Yordan Alvarez at the plate. 

Bradford escaped that spot, yielding just a sacrifice fly after a nine pitch at-bat. 

But Jose Abreu made him pay the price.

Abreu followed with a line drive, three-run home run off Bradford, giving the Astros a 7-3 lead in the fourth inning of ALCS Game 4. 

One might be tempted to call Abreu's shot "game-breaking," but there's just no breaking this game open, not with the Astros needing to cover 18 more outs and with their three highest-leverage relievers diminished after pitching Game 3. 

The wild ride careens onward. 

– Gabe Lacques

Corey Seager's home run makes it 3-3

ARLINGTON, Texas - Corey Seager tied Game 4 of the ALCS on a pitch he had no business hitting out of the park. 

But Seager is different, and not only did he reach the 92-mph high fastball from Houston Astros starter José Urquidy, he drove it to the opposite field, 401 feet into the Astros bullpen to square the game 3-3. 

After two more singles, Urquidy was out of the game, combining with Rangers starter Andrew Heaney to record just nine outs. 

Now, it's all square with six innings to play. 

– Gabe Lacques

Rangers back in the game game with two runs vs. José Urquidy

ARLINGTON, Texas - Just two innings into Game 4, it's abundantly clear this contest will be decided by the relievers. 

Adolis Garcia hit a leadoff homer in the bottom of the second and the Texas Rangers scratched another run off Houston Astros starter José Urquidy on a Nathaniel Lowe double and a Josh Jung sacrifice fly, cutting the Astros' lead to 3-2. 

The Astros chased Rangers starter Andrew Heaney with two outs in the first, and the Rangers nearly returned the favor in the second, with Houston reliever Ryne Stanek warming. But with two on, Urquidy limited the hot-hitting Jung to a sacrifice fly and struck out Leody Taveras to strand the tying run at second. 

– Gabe Lacques

Astros off to fast start with three-run first inning

ARLINGTON, Texas - The Houston Astros continue blowing up the Texas Rangers' postseason pitching plans. 

Nursing a 2-1 lead entering Game 4 of the ALCS, the Rangers aimed once again to successfully "piggyback" Andrew Heaney and Dane Dunning, the lefty going as long as he can before turning it over to his right-handed counterpart.

But Heaney never got off the ground. 

Houston hit him with a double, single and an Alex Bregman two-run triple before he could record an out, and the Astros chased him from the game before he could complete the first inning. Dunning relieved and kept the game manageable: 3-0 Astros before the Rangers coudl bat.

Heaney and Dunning teamed up on perhaps the Rangers' most important win this postseason: A 3-2 triumph in Game 1 of the ALDS at Baltimore, as Heaney retired the first 11 batters before Dunning and four more relievers finished the job. The Rangers swept the ALDS in three games and won the first two in the ALCS. 

But now, pending Jose Urquidy's outcome as the Astros' starter, this series looks ticketed to go back to Houston for a Game 6.

– Gabe Lacques

How to watch Astros vs. Rangers: ALCS Game 4 time, TV channel

Thursday night's game is scheduled to begin at 8:03 p.m. ET, airing on Fox Sports 1 or streaming through fuboTV.

How will Rangers respond to first postseason loss?

ARLINGTON, Texas — Lacking his usual command on his pitches after returning from a 37-day layoff due to a shoulder strain, Max Scherzer was knocked around for five runs in four innings and was no match for Astros playoff virtuoso Cristian Javier, who took a no-hitter into the fifth inning Wednesday night at Globe Life Field. 

The Astros won Game 3 of this American League Championship Series 8-5, and while they still trail 2-1 in the series, are likely comforted by the next question facing the Rangers.

What do we do tomorrow?

Texas stormed through the AL wild-card series and Division Series and claimed the first two games of this ALCS because seasoned playoff vet Nathan Eovaldi and left-hander Jordan Montgomery were able to start five of their seven games.

But the best-of-seven format leaves nowhere to hide on the roster. And the Scherzer gambit – he pitched a pair of simulated games, getting up to 69 pitches before the Rangers tapped their famously intense mercenary to start – failed badly.

His belly flop begs the question: Are the Rangers, unbeaten 24 hours ago, suddenly in trouble?

“Nobody said it was going to be easy,” says Rangers designated hitter Mitch Garver. “And certainly nobody thought we were going to go out and win all the way through.”

“There were going to be a few bumps.”

Astros, Rangers lineups, starting pitchers for ALCS Game 4

Houston Astros

Starting pitcher: RHP José Urquidy

1. Jose Altuve (R) 2B
2. Mauricio Dubon (R) CF
3. Alex Bregman (R) 3B
4. Yordan Alvarez (L) DH
5. Jose Abreu (R) 1B
6. Kyle Tucker (L)
7. RF Chas McCormick (R) LF
8. Jeremy Pena (R) SS
9. Martin Maldonado (R) C

Texas Rangers

Starting pitcher: LHP Andrew Heaney

1. Marcus Semien (R) 2B
2. Corey Seager (L) SS
3. Evan Carter (L) LF
4. Adolis Garcia (R) RF
5. Mitch Garver (R) DH
6. Jonah Heim (S) C
7. Nathaniel Lowe (L) 1B
8. Josh Jung (R)
9. 3B Leody Taveras (S) CF