Seager, Garcia slug Rangers to World Series in 11-4 Game 7 win over Astros in ALCS

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Adolis Garcia and Corey Seager were the Texas version of the Bash Brothers in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series on Monday.

The duo combined for seven hits and six RBIs in an 11-4 rout of defending champion Houston to win the series 4-3 and send the Rangers to their third World Series in team history.

Seager was hitting .192 in the ALCS coming into the deciding game before he belted a 440-foot home run in his first at-bat to start the Rangers' hit parade. Seager finished 3-for-4, adding a double, single and a walk to his tally while Garcia continued his postseason tear.

Garcia set a postseason record with 15 RBIs in a series, finishing off his historic ALCS with four hits including two solo home runs and five RBIs. The previous mark was held by Nelson Cruz who drove in 13 runs while a Ranger in the 2011 ALCS. Garcia has hit five home runs over the past four postseason games and was named the ALCS Most Valuable Player.

"We're not surprised about what (Garcia) did. We've seen him do it all year," Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said. "I've seen him do it during the year, and he's an incredible talent."

Texas scored three runs in the first inning off Houston starting pitcher Cristian Javier who lasted just 1/3 of an inning before manager Dusty Baker went to his bullpen. Seager's solo blast was the first marker, followed by RBI singles by Garcia and Mitch Garver.

Texas blew it open in the fourth inning with four runs, buoyed by a 2-run double by Evan Carter and a 2-run single from Garcia to make it 8-2. Nathaniel Lowe added a 2-run homer in the sixth inning as the Rangers pounded the Astros pitching staff for 15 hits. Garcia's solo shots came in the third and eighth innings.

"We just got beat," Houston manager Dusty Baker said. "Sometimes there's no rhyme or reason. Sometimes you lose, and sometimes you get beat. There's a difference."

The Rangers are 8-0 on the road this postseason and beat the Rays in the Wild Card Series and the top-seeded Orioles in the Division Series. Texas last won the AL pennant in 2011.

Bochy, who came out of retirement to manage the Rangers, will go to his fifth World Series and said this team, "has played with as much heart and determination as anybody."

"It's unreal that I'm here, to be honest," Bochy said. "I was sitting at my house for three years and now I'm going back to the World Series, I just want to get a ring for the guys."

Houston outfielder Yordan Alvarez did everything he could to keep his club in the game. Hitting .435 for the series, Alvarez continued his dominance at the plate with three hits to raise his on-base plus slugging to 1.521 in the ALCS. Had the Astros won, Alvarez surely would have been named the series MVP.

Astros second baseman Jose Altuve hit the ninth inning's first pitch off the brick wall behind the Crawford Boxes in left field off Rangers reliever Jose Leclerc. Altuve now has 27 career postseason home runs, two shy of the all-time record of 29 by Manny Ramirez.

Every game in the series was won by the road team, the second time that's happened in a best-of-seven series in MLB history. The first time was the 2019 World Series when the Nationals beat the Astros at Minute Maid Park.

Texas starting pitcher Max Scherzer lasted 2 2/3 innings, allowing two earned runs on four hits including an Alex Bregman solo home run in the third. This start went much better than his last one in the series Oct. 18 when the Astros tagged him for five runs in four innings.

Houston used eight pitchers in the game while the Rangers used five. Bochy became the first manager in MLB history to win three league championship series with three different teams. He previously won LCS titles with San Diego and San Francisco.

The Rangers will host either the Philadelphia Phillies or the Arizona Diamondbacks in Game 1 of the World Series on Friday. The Phils and Snakes play Game 7 of the NLCS on Tuesday at Citizens Bank Ballpark in Philadelphia.