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ALCS, NLCS: Astros pour it on vs. Rangers in ALCS Game 4; Diamondbacks walk off to take NLCS Game 3

Arizona got back in the NLCS with some ninth-inning heroics Thursday, and the Astros' offense delivered fireworks to tie the ALCS

yahoo sports staff
·3 min read
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The Houston Astros tied the ALCS vs. the Texas Rangers on Thursday in Arlington. José Urquidy started on the mound for the Astros, and Rangers starter Andrew Heaney ... well, he didn't make it out of the first inning, as the Astros scored three runs, and Bruce Bochy responded with a quick hook.

The Rangers didn't wait long to answer back, as Adolis Garcia led off the bottom of the second inning with a solo homer, and then Mitch Garver scored on a sac fly after drawing a walk. It was 3-2 Astros after two innings.

In the Rangers' half of the third, Corey Seager hit a solo homer that tied the game. Two subsequent singles had the Rangers looking for more — and ended Urquidy's day early.

The Astros continued to pile on the scoring with four runs in the fourth, the exclamation point being a three-run home run from Jose Abreu that made it 7-3.

The Rangers had a chance to answer back in the bottom of the fifth, with two on and no out. Then this happened:

The Astros added three more before it was over, and the series was tied.

Earlier Thursday, it was a low-scoring pitchers' duel at Chase Field in Phoenix. Ranger Suárez took the mound for the Phillies in Game 3 of the NLCS and allowed just four baserunners in 5 1/3 innings. On the other side, Brandon Pfaadt cruised through 5 2/3, giving up just two hits and logging nine strikeouts. The game was scoreless through six.

Finally, in the seventh, the Phillies broke through and opened the scoring when Bryce Harper walked, worked his way around the bases and scored on a wild pitch. Not the usual move for the Phillies' offense, but whatever works.

The Diamondbacks matched them in the bottom of the inning, with a Tommy Pham single and a Lourdes Gurriel Jr. double scoring a run of their own. Tie game again.

It stayed tied until the ninth. With Craig Kimbrel on the mound for the Phillies, Gurriel drew a leadoff walk but eventually was tagged out at home. Still, the D-backs loaded the bases before Ketel Marte hit a single to earn the walk-off win for Arizona and make the NLCS 2-1.

Follow along as Yahoo Sports provides the latest news, scores and updates from NLCS Game 3 and ALCS Game 4 on Thursday.