The Texas Rangers did what they needed to do on Monday night, putting together a big first inning before holding off a Houston Astros rally to post a 5-4 win inside Minute Maid Park. With the victory, Texas now has a 2-0 lead in the 2023 ALCS with the series heading back to Arlington for Game 3 on Wednesday night.
There were plenty of key moments and statistics in the game, so let's take a look at three that interested us.
Rangers-Astros statistic to know: The long ball
With three home runs on Monday, including two from Yordan Alvarez, the Astros brought the power to the park, but it wasn't enough to help them earn the win.
Monday's loss was just the third time in franchise postseason history that the Astros had hit three or more homers in a game and been defeated. Houston is now 17-3 in those games.
Rangers-Astros statistic to know: Alvarez joins elite group
Those two home runs gave Alvarez his second career multi-homer game and his second of this postseason (joining Game 1 of the ALDS against the Minnesota Twins). He is now just the sixth player in MLB history to have two multi-homer games in the same postseason, along with Nick Castellanos (2023), Chase Utley (2009), Jayson Werth (2009), Troy Glaus (2002) and Willie Aikens (1980).
Rangers-Astros statistic to know: Texas just keeps winning
Texas stayed undefeated in the postseason with Monday's win, moving to 7-0 since the 2023 playoffs began. That's the longest postseason winning streak for them in franchise history and tied with the 2022 version of the Astros for the second-longest skein in AL playoff history. Only the 1984 Kansas City Royals, who won their first eight games, have a longer winning streak than the 2023 Rangers.
The Rangers have also won six of those seven games on the road, making them the third team all-time to win their first six postseason games (joining the 1996 New York Yankees (who won their first eight games away from the Bronx) and the 2005 Chicago White Sox (with six straight road wins)).