Tonight we have Game One of the American League Championship Series. Interestingly, this is the first time I can remember a really important playoff that featured teams from Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth playing each other. Maybe there was a big Rockets/Mavericks series back in the 1980's, but I don't remember it.
Anyway, here is Houston's record in League Championship Series (wins in bold):
1980, 1986, 2004, 2005, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022
That's a total of 5-5. But they are trying to become the first American League team since the mighty Yankees from 1998 to 2001 to win the pennant for the third year in a row.
Here is Texas's record:
2010, 2011
That's a total of 2-0. But of course, the Rangers still have never won the World Series.
No team has won the National League three times in a row since the Cardinals did it from 1942 to 1944.
ReplyDeleteOnly 12 managers in baseball history have won 2,000 games. All of them are in the Hall of Fame -- except for Dusty Baker (Astros) and Bruce Bochy (Rangers) who are about to battle for the ALCS.
ReplyDelete1. Connie Mack: 3,731 wins, 9 pennants, 5 World Series
ReplyDelete2. Tony La Russa: 2,884 wins, 6 pennants, 3 World Series
3. John McGraw: 2,763 wins, 10 pennants, 3 World Series
4. Bobby Cox: 2,504 wins, 5 pennants, 1 World Series
5. Joe Torre: 2,326 wins, 6 pennants, 4 World Series
6. Sparky Anderson: 2,194 wins, 5 pennants, 3 World Series
7. Dusty Baker: 2,183 wins, 3 pennants, 1 World Series
8. Bucky Harris: 2,158 wins, 3 pennants, 2 World Series
9. Joe McCarthy: 2,125 wins, 9 pennants, 7 World Series
10. Bruce Bochy: 2,093 wins, 4 pennants, 3 World Series
11. Walter Alston: 2,040 wins, 7 pennants, 4 World Series
12. Leo Durocher: 2,008 wins, 3 pennants, 1 World Series
Here's how these teams matched up in the regular season (home team first):
ReplyDelete4/14: Houston 2 - 6 Texas
4/15: Houston 8 - 2 Texas
4/16: Houston 1 - 9 Texas
6/30: Texas 3 - 5 Houston
7/1: Texas 5 - 2 Houston
7/2: Texas 3 - 5 Houston
7/3: Texas 11 - 12 Houston
7/24: Houston 10 - 9 Texas
7/25: Houston 4 - 3 Texas
7/26: Houston 5 - 13 Texas
9/4: Texas 6 - 13 Houston
9/5: Texas 1 - 14 Houston
9/6: Texas 3 -12 Houston
By my count, that's 9 wins for the Astros, and 4 for the Rangers.
ReplyDeleteAstros wearing their usual home white uniforms. Rangers in blue hats and jerseys, along with gray pants.
ReplyDeleteNo score after one.
ReplyDeleteIn the top of the second, Evan Carter of Elizabethton, Tennessee, smacks a double to left, and then comes home on a single by Jonah Heim. Rangers lead 1-0.
ReplyDeleteThe Rangers leave the bases loaded, and Texas leads 1-0 after 1 1/2 innings.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, in Sunday Night Football, the Giants have traveled to Buffalo to play the Bills. The Giants are wearing their Lawrence Taylor-era helmets and white jerseys with blue numerals, and they look great. The Bills are wearing white helmets, bright red jerseys, and bright red pants. They look ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteFor the ALCS, ESPN radio is going with Karl Ravech, Eduardo Perez, and Tim Kurkjian. It's a solid team, although I prefer a two-man lineup.
ReplyDeleteThis is the first time since 2008 (Rays over Red Sox) that the two teams in the ALCS are from the same division.
ReplyDeleteRangers lead 1-0 after 2 1/2 innings.
ReplyDeleteSo far, they've been going for an hour and they have yet to complete three innings. I truly can't tell much difference because of the pitch clock.
ReplyDeleteTexas leads 1-0 after 3, and it looks as though this game won't finish until after midnight on the East Coast.
ReplyDeleteThe folks on the radio keep saying that Atlanta went to eight consecutive NL Championship Series in the 1990's. But what actually happened was that Atlanta went to the NLCS for three years in a row from 1991 to 1993. Then there was no playoff in 1994. Then Atlanta went to the NLCS five years in a row from 1995 to 1999. I don't count that as eight years in a row.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, the New England Patriots did make eight consecutive AFC title games from 2011 to 2018. They went 5-3 in those games.
ReplyDeleteThe Los Angeles Lakers went to eight consecutive Western Conference Finals from 1982 to 1989. They went 7-1 in those series.
ReplyDeleteIn the bottom of the 4th, the Astros get three two-out singles in a row to load the bases for Martin Maldonado, their catcher and number-9 hitter, who batted only .191 in the regular season. He struck out, and the Rangers lead 1-0 after 4.
ReplyDeleteWith one out in the top of the 5th, Leody Tevaras -- the number 9 hitter for Texas -- whacks a line drive into the right field seats, and Texas leads 2-0.
ReplyDeleteIn the regular season, Taveras batted .266, with 14 homers and 67 RBI's. But that was a huge home run right there.
ReplyDeleteRangers 2-0 after 4 1/2 innings.
ReplyDeleteRangers 2-0 after 5. The key fact here is that Rangers' starter Jordan Montgomery (10-11, 3.20 ERA in the regular season) is dominating the Astros.
ReplyDeleteJustin Verlander (13-8, 3.22 ERA) has been pretty good for the Astros, but he has given up two big runs.
ReplyDeleteI was wondering if Verlander would get to 300 wins, but I don't think he will. For his career, he is 257-141, and he'll be 41 when the next season starts.
ReplyDeleteThe silly red uniforms are killing Buffalo, by the way. The Giants lead 6-0 with two minutes left in the first half.
ReplyDeleteRangers 2-0 after 6.
ReplyDeleteMontgomery leaves after 6 1/3 innings and a 2-0 lead. Rangers turn to Josh Sborz (6-7, 5.50 ERA in 44 appearances) with one out and no one on base in the 7th.
ReplyDeleteSborz has no trouble, and the Rangers lead 2-0 after 7.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, with 2:29 left in the third quarter, Buffalo still trails the Giants 6-0. I have never understood the Bills, and I guess I never will.
ReplyDeleteIf sportswriters still had real access to NFL teams, and there was a young sportswriter as good as Roy Blount, Jr., I have to believe that there's a great book that could have been written about the Bills.
ReplyDeleteSborz walks Altuve to lead off the bottom of the 8th, and that's all for Sborz.
ReplyDeleteThe Rangers turn to Aroldis Chapman (6-5, 3.09 ERA, 6 saves in 61 appearances).
ReplyDeleteThe Bills finally score, and take a 7-6 lead with 14:54 left in the game.
ReplyDeleteBregman crushes a ball to deep left, but Evan Carter makes a leaping catch at the wall to stop a double (or more). One out.
ReplyDeleteNo, it's two out! Running with the hit, Altuve passed second base before Carter's leaping catch. Altuve then had to get back to first -- but he did not touch second on his way back to first. The Rangers challenge the call, the challenge is upheld, and the Astros suddenly have two out and nobody on.
ReplyDeleteRangers lead 2-0 after 8.
ReplyDeleteRangers still lead 2-0 after 8 1/2 innings. They turn to Jose Leclerc (0-2, 2.68 ERA, 4 saves in 57 appearances) to close out the Astros.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, with 10 minutes left, the Giants lead Buffalo 9-7.
ReplyDeleteLeClerc mows down the Astros 1-2-3. The Rangers win their sixth post-season game in a row, and they wrapped up a 2-0 win in just less than 3 hours.
ReplyDeleteWith 3:48 left, the Bills take a 14-9 lead on an amazing pass from Josh Allen.
ReplyDeleteBills win, and that's all for tonight.
ReplyDelete