Astros vs Rangers head to decisive Game 7 in the ALCS | Starting lineups announced

HOUSTON — It’s all come down to this as the all-Texas AL Championship Series will be decided in a decisive Game 7 at Minute Maid Park.

Road teams are unbeaten in this Lone Star State showdown, only the second time in baseball history the home side has dropped the first six games in a best-of-seven postseason series. 

The Houston Astros are attempting to become the first club to capture three straight pennants since the New York Yankees took four in a row from 1998-2001. The Texas Rangers, one of six major league teams without a World Series title, are trying to reach the Fall Classic for the first time since consecutive trips in 2010 and 2011.

The Rangers took Game 6 of the ALCS to avoid elimination Sunday night, winning 9-2 in Houston. Garver went 3 for 4 with a home run and two RBIs. Jonah Heim hit a two-run shot and Adolis García — at the center of a Game 5 dustup — broke it open with a grand slam in the ninth inning.

The first pitch is scheduled for 7:03 p.m. CT at Minute Maid Park. The game airs on Fox and FS1. 

Cristian Javier, the Game 3 winner when the defending World Series champion Astros won 8-5, will pitch again for Houston.

The 26-year-old right-hander is 6-1 with a 2.08 ERA in 16 postseason games, winning all four of his starts. He has allowed only five hits and two runs over 22 innings in those four starts, including two runs and three hits over 5 2/3 innings earlier in this series.

“My thought process is to stay positive and go out and just compete,” Javier said, adding that Game 7 wouldn’t feel any different. “Not really. It’s just the same game. Same people. Just got to go out there and compete. Nothing different.”

Max Scherzer will start for the Rangers. His start comes four years after the three-time Cy Young Award winner started Game 7 of the World Series for Washington as the Nationals beat the Astros at Minute Maid Park in the only best-of-seven postseason series that went the distance without the home team winning a single game.

Scherzer was the loser in Game 3 in Arlington on Wednesday night, when he returned after missing just more than a month with a right shoulder strain. The 39-year-old right-hander allowed five runs and five hits while throwing 63 pitches over four innings, but finished strong by striking out the last two batters he faced with a runner on base.

“He knows how to go out there and compete and pitch. I think he’s definitely going to be a lot better than his last outing,” said Game 6 winner Nathan Eovaldi. “He’s been ready to go and chomping at the bit. I know that last start didn’t sit so well, and the competitor that he is, he is going to go out and do a great job tomorrow.”

Astros setup man Bryan Abreu will be available in Game 7 even though MLB denied his appeal of a two-game suspension. The reliever was suspended and fined by Major League Baseball on Saturday after hitting Rangers outfielder Adolis García with a pitch in Game 5.

MLB said Abreu’s suspension will be served at the beginning of the 2024 season. 

Houston is 90-72 overall and 39-42 at home. Astros hitters are batting a collective .259, the fourth-best team batting average in MLB play.

Astros lineup:

• Jose Altuve, 2B
• Alex Bregman, 3B
• Yordan Alvarez, DH
• José Abreu, 1B
• Michael Brantley, LF
• Kyle Tucker, RF
• Chas McCormick, CF
• Jeremy Peña, SS
• Martín Maldonado, C

Texas has a 90-72 record overall and a 40-41 record on the road. The Rangers have gone 82-37 in games when they record eight or more hits.

Rangers lineup:

• Marcus Semien, 2B
• Corey Seager, SS
• Evan Carter, LF
• Adolis García, RF
• Mitch Garver, DH
• Jonah Heim, C
• Nathaniel Lowe, 1B
• Josh Jung, 3B
• Leody Taveras, CF

Just before 12:30 p.m., the Astros announced that the roof will be closed for Game 7 of the ALCS. The roof has been closed at both the Juice Box and Globe Life Stadium for each game of the ALCS except for Game 5 in Arlington.