Texas slugger Adolis Garcia continued to hit at a blistering pace with a two homer, five RBI Game 7 performance, leading the Rangers to a dominating 11-4 victory at Houston, sending Texas into the World Series for the third time in a franchise history that began as the Washington Senators in 1961.
The onslaught began two batters into the game, as Corey Seager smashed a homer into the upper deck in right field. Nathaniel Lowe also added a long ball for Texas. Garcia set a record for RBIs in a postseason series with 15. For the second time in postseason history, all seven games in the series were won by the road team. The first time that occurred was 2019, when the Nationals beat the Astros in the World Series.
The victory sends Texas, with home field advantage, into the World Series against the Arizona Diamondbacks, a 4-2 Game 7 winner at Philadelphia to win the NL pennant on Tuesday night. Both teams are Wild Card entries in 12-team postseason.
In the most mysterious aspect of Houston’s attempt to repeat as World Series champions, the Astros season-long struggles at home continued. Houston was 40-47 at Minute Maid Park this year, and 0-4 in the ALCS. They had won three games over the weekend at Texas, but failed to close out their in-state rivals in Games 6 and 7, giving up a combined 20 runs in the losses. No team has repeated as World Series champions since the 1998-2000 Yankees.
