Coming into the American League Championship Series, the Texas Rangers were 8-32 in their previous 40 games at Houston.
That doesn't matter much now, does it?
The Rangers won each of the first two games of the ALCS in Houston, beating the Astros, 2-0, on Sunday night and following it up with a 5-4 victory on Monday.
Texas left-hander Jordan Montgomery outpitched Houston ace Justin Verlander in Sunday's matchup. Montgomery tossed 6.1 shutout innings, while Verlander gave up two runs over 6.2 innings.
On Monday, the Rangers jumped on Houston starter Framber Valdez for four runs in the first inning, then held on for dear life in the late innings.
Nathan Eovaldi improved to 3-0 in the playoffs. He gave up three runs over six innings, but his big achievement was pitching out of a bases-loaded, no-outs jam in the bottom of the fifth. That was the moment you felt as though it was the Rangers' night.
Is it the Rangers' year? Well, they are 7-0 in the playoffs, including 6-0 on the road, and now they get to go home with a commanding lead in the ALCS.
Texas beat the 101-win Baltimore Orioles in the Division Series as part of a remarkable group of upsets. The 90-win Philadelphia Phillies slayed the 104-win Atlanta Braves, while the 84-win Arizona Diamondbacks defeated the 100-win Los Angeles Dodgers.
It's been a crazy playoff year so far, and that's sparked some calls for changing the playoff format. Supposedly, the regular season has been "devalued" by these results.
Thing is, none of this is all that surprising. Baseball is unlike other sports in the sense that in a short series, a weaker team can beat a stronger team. It happens every week during the regular season, and we don't say a thing about it. When it happens in the playoffs, it's the end of the world.
Honestly, if you want to "reward the regular season," you can't have an expanded playoff. If you have 12 postseason teams, then every one of those 12 teams has at least a puncher's chance.
Right now, the Rangers are playing their best baseball, and they've got the defending champion Astros on the ropes.
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