Nathaniel Lowe Gives Texas Rangers Life With Homer off Houston Astros Ace Justin Verlander in ALCS Game 5
ARLINGTON, Texas – The Texas Rangers needed a spark after four scoreless innings Friday afternoon.
It came from one of most unlikely places – Nathaniel Lowe.
The Rangers first baseman, hitting seventh in a reshuffled order in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series, sliced an opposite-field solo home run in the bottom of the fifth off Houston Astros ace Justin Verlander.
The 380-foot shot into the short porch in left field tied the game at 1-1. It also gave the Rangers a much-needed shot in the arm after getting dominated by Verlander for four innings.
The three-time Cy Young Award winner had only allowed one hit going into the fifth. The Rangers had a scoring chance in the third with Mitch Garver at third base with one out, but Verlander got Marcus Semien and Corey Seager – the top two hitters in the Texas lineup – to fly out and end the threat scoreless.
Getting the homer from Lowe, who also went deep once against the Baltimore Orioles in the ALDS, took some pressure off Rangers starter Jordan Montgomery. The lefty won the first game of the series, also pitching opposite Verlander.
The Rangers and Astros came into the fifth game of the best-of-seven series tied 2-2. Texas won the first two games in Houston before the Astros did the same the previous two nights at Globe Life Field.
The series shifts to Minute Maid Park in Houston for Game 6 on Sunday. The Rangers will be starting Nathan Eovaldi, while the Astros are going with Framber Valdez in a rematch of Game 2. Game 7, if necessary, is Monday.
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