“You have to give them that respect.” Texas doesn’t take anything for granted

ARLINGTON — At first glance, the Rangers appear to be in the best possible position after taking a 2-0 lead over the Astros in the American League Championship Series, even more so when those two victories were in Houston and with the next three (if (if the fifth incident is necessary)) in Arlington, home of the Texans. In fact, 26 of the 29 teams in history in that position in a best-of-seven series have finished by eliminating their opponent.

However, everyone on the Rangers (and the Astros, for that matter) knows that Houston absolutely dominated the Texans at Globe Life Field during the regular season, winning five of the six games here with the overall score in their favor by 29 points. With that in mind, the Rangers don’t look confident at all.

“We still play with an underdog mentality,” Rangers player Mitch Garver said. “We are fighting and struggling for victories. “We are two wins away from the World Championship, but at the same time we are taking each game individually.”

With another victory, the Rangers would tie the all-time record of eight straight wins to start the postseason, held by the 2014 Royals. With an overall score of 39-16 in their favor in these playoffs, the Texans have beaten teams of the highest quality such as the Rays and Orioles, as well as To dominate the Astros in the first two games of this series at Minute Maid Park. But with the recent history between these two teams, especially Houston’s sweep of Texas here Sept. 4-6 in which the Sidereals hit 16 homers and scored 39 runs, Bruce Bochy’s team knows that at any moment things could take a turn.

“Of course,” Rangers second baseman Marcus Semien said when he touched that spot. “It’s definitely one game at a time. Houston played well (at Globe Life Field). We have to focus and play good baseball, just like we’ve been doing.”

The Rangers are 51-31, including the playoffs, at home in 2023. With Max Scherzer returning from injury to start Wednesday’s Game 3 against the Astros’ Cristian Javier, Globe Life Field will be full, just like Games 4 and 5 (if The latter is necessary). In fact, this will be the Rangers’ first postseason games in the history of this stadium, which opened its doors in 2020.

“The crowd will be very energetic and it will be fun,” said Garver, who also expects there will be more Rangers fans than Astros fans, whose fans live just three hours and 45 minutes from the Dallas/Fort Worth area. (Metroplex) on the highway.

Although the Texans are two wins away from the franchise’s first World Series championship since 2011, the team isn’t taking anything for granted, complete with home-field advantage this week. In fact, Garver says the Rangers are still playing as if the other team’s team is the favorite.

“You have to do it,” the designated hitter said. I’ve said it before: they are the defending champions and you have to give them that respect. They won the West and we are a Wild Card team. “We have that mentality.”