Texas Rangers, Houston Astros Announce Starting Pitchers For ALCS Game 7
The Texas Rangers ran away with a 9-2 win over the Houston Astros in Game 6 of the ALCS on Sunday, forcing a winner-takes-all Game 7 on Monday.
The two AL West clubs made it known who will will take the mound with a spot in the World Series on the line, and both starting pitchers have quite the playoff resumes.
Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said during his postgame press conference that Max Scherzer would take the bump to start Game 7. The Astros, meanwhile, posted on social media that Cristian Javier would be their starter.
Scherzer has made 23 playoff starts over the course of his MLB career, owning a 3.80 ERA, 1.129 WHIP and 11.0 strikeouts per nine innings in the postseason. He won the World Series as a member of the Washington Nationals in 2019, he won an American League Pennant with the Detroit Tigers in 2012 and he reached the NLCS with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2021.
The only Game 7 Scherzer has ever started was in that 2019 World Series, which also happened to come on the road against the Astros. Scherzer allowed two earned runs in 5.0 innings that night.
Scherzer did not pitch in either the AL Wild Card Series or ALDS this year due to a shoulder injury that was expected to knock him out for the year. The 39-year-old right-hander worked his way back in time for Game 3 of the ALCS, but the Astros lit him up for five earned runs in 4.0 innings.
The Rangers acquired Scherzer from the New York Mets at the MLB Trade Deadline. He went 4-2 with a 3.20 ERA, 0.956 WHIP and 10.6 strikeouts per nine innings after arriving in Texas.
Javier, meanwhile, has been a member of the Astros' starting rotation since he finished third in AL Rookie of the Year voting in 2020. He came out of the bullpen during Houston's 2020 and 2021 playoff runs, but he has made four postseason starts since 2022.
The Astros are undefeated when Javier starts in the playoffs, as he owns a 0.82 ERA, 0.727 WHIP and 10.6 strikeouts per nine innings in those outings. Opponents are hitting .071 versus Javier as a playoff starter, which is the lowest batting averaging against by any pitcher in a four-start span in postseason history.
Javier tossed 5.0 scoreless frames against the Minnesota Twins in Game 3 of the ALDS, then 5.2 innings of two-run ball against the Rangers in Game 3 of the ALCS.
The 26-year-old righty posted career-lows across the board in the regular season, however, putting up a 4.56 ERA, 1.265 WHIP and 8.8 strikeouts per nine innings.
First pitch for Game 7 is scheduled for 8:03 p.m. ET from Minute Maid Park.
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