Jose Altuve’s game-winning three-run shot in the top of the ninth inning gave the Houston Astros a 3-2 victory and put them just one win away from a third straight World Series appearance.The Arizona Diamondbacks won two games after losing two in the National League Championship Series (NLCS).Houston rallied to win 5-4 in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series (ALCS) against the Texas Rangers in the 2023 Major League Baseball Baseball World Series at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, U.S., on Sunday.The Astros, who won their third straight game after falling behind 2-0 in the best-of-seven ALCS, need just one more win to advance to the World Series for the third straight season, joining the 2021 and 2022 teams.Altuve was the hero of the game.Trailing 4-2 in the top of the ninth, Houston had runners on first and second with no outs when Yoenis Diaz led off with a single to left and John Singleton drew a walk.Altuve, the “Little Giant,” stepped to the plate.Altuve lifted a changeup low and away from Texas right-hander Jose LeClerc for a three-run blast over the left-field wall.Houston took an early lead on Alex Bregman’s leadoff solo homer in the first inning.
Texas tied the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the fifth on Nathaniel Law’s solo shot to left.Houston tied the game in the top of the sixth on an RBI single by Jose Abreu, but Texas answered with three runs in the bottom of the inning to put the game out of reach.With one out in the bottom of the sixth, Corey Seager doubled to right field and Evan Carter followed with a single to left to put runners on first and third.Adolis Garcia took a 153-mile-per-hour fastball from Houston starter Justin Verlander and smashed it over the left-center field wall for a three-run arch.Garcia watched the ball as it sailed high and landed in the outfield bleachers, before slamming his bat down hard.The play sparked an argument.In the bottom of the eighth inning, with the bases loaded, a fastball from Houston right-hander Brian Abreu hit Garcia in the left arm.Thinking it was an intentional pitch, Garcia lunged at Houston catcher Martin Maldonado. Maldonado reacted calmly.The umpires ejected three players: Abreu for throwing the pitch, Houston manager Dusty Baker for protesting Abreu’s ejection, and Garcia for lunging at the catcher.After the benches were cleared, the mood shifted in Houston’s favor.The Astros got out of a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the eighth without allowing a run, but Altuve’s three-run homer in the top of the ninth gave them the lead.With runners on first and second in the bottom of the ninth, Seattle’s Marcus Simeon hit a hard line drive that Houston 슬롯게이밍 shortstop Grae Kessinger leaped to catch to end the threat.
