ARLINGTON, Texas — Cristian Javier knew right away his fastball was working Wednesday night in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series.
Then again, it’s October, when he always seems to be at his best for the Houston Astros.
“There’s not a better feeling than knowing that your teammates instill their confidence in you,” Javier said through his translator. “They expect good things in you and put their trust in you.”
The 26-year-old right-hander from the Dominican Republic, nicknamed “El Reptil,” delivered again. He pitched into the sixth inning of another solid postseason start, and the Astros beat the host Texas Rangers 8-5 to pull within 2-1 in the best-of-seven series.
“He was good. He was very good,” Astros manager Dusty Baker said.
Javier held Texas to two runs and three hits in 5 2/3 innings. He threw 51 of 85 pitches for strikes and walked only one batter.
“These moments are extremely special for me,” said Javier, who won for the second time in these playoffs and is 4-0 in his four career postseason starts while allowing only five total hits.
Texas lost for the first time this postseason after a 7-0 start. Three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer was gone after four innings in his first outing in more than a month after recovering from a strained shoulder muscle.
Javier set a franchise record for Houston, the AL’s No. 2 seed and seeking a repeat as World Series champion, by extending his postseason scoreless streak to 20 1/3 innings until the fifth, when rookie All-Star third baseman Josh Jung hit the first of his pair of two-run homers.
“He’s got that fastball, his rises a little bit, and hitters have a tough time,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said. “He’s been throwing well in the postseason. We knew that coming in we had our hands full.”
After going 7-1 in his first 14 starts this year, Javier had a 7.27 ERA over a 13-game stretch. He went more than a month without a win before six scoreless innings in the regular-season finale Oct. 1 against the host Arizona Diamondbacks, an 8-1 victory that clinched the AL West Division title.
Ryan Pressly, the third reliever, worked the ninth and induced Jung’s game-ending double-play grounder for his third save this postseason.
Jose Altuve homered while Martín Maldonado, the catcher wearing reptile-skin spikes as a nod to his pitcher’s nickname, and Yordan Alvarez both had two-run singles for the Astros. They scored five runs with two outs.
Jung hit his second two-run homer in the seventh for the fifth-seeded Rangers, who played only their second home game this postseason. They swept the fourth-seeded Tampa Bay Rays in the best-of-three wild-card round and the top-seeded Baltimore Orioes in an AL Division Series to get to their first ALCS since 2011 and their first postseason series against their in-state division rival.
Game 4 is Thursday night, when José Urquidy pitches for Houston and Andrew Heaney starts for the Rangers, and Game 5 will be Friday afternoon, also in Arlington.
The Astros are 40-45 at home this year, losing three of four at Minute Maid Park in the playoffs. However, they have won 17 of their past 20 road games, including both hosted by the Minnesota Twins in their ALDS and three during a record-setting sweep at Globe Life Field in early September, when they homered 16 times and outscored the host Rangers 39-10.
“It’s the strangest thing I’ve ever seen because usually you want to be .500 on the road and way over .500 at home,” Baker said. “I asked the team in spring training to be the best road team. Maybe I should have asked them to be the best road and home team. They usually give me what I ask for.”
The Rangers had trailed after only one of their first 64 innings this postseason until a three-run second that put Houston ahead to stay.
Alvarez was hit by a 89 mph cutter on his left foot to start that frame, struggling Kyle Tucker walked and Mauricio Dubón loaded the bases with a single. Alvarez came home as Scherzer bounced a wild pitch off Jonah Heim’s mitt, and Maldonado, the No. 9 batter, followed with his big hit.
Altuve, who went deep five times in that September regular-season series, homered leading off the third. José Abreu doubled on the first pitch in the fourth and made it 5-0 when he scored on a single by Dubón, who had three hits.
The 39-year-old Scherzer, a trade-deadline acquisition from the New York Mets, gave up five runs and five hits in taking the loss.
Scherzer was dealing with forearm tightness six weeks ago when he allowed seven runs — all on three homers — over three innings in the Astros’ 12-3 win that wrapped up that September series. He threw 5 1/3 scoreless innings six days later, on Sept. 12 against the host Toronto Blue Jays, before going on the injured list because of the shoulder strain.
The last batter Javier faced was rookie Evan Carter, whose hard two-out liner to right sailed over Tucker’s head to the wall after being misplayed into a double by the Gold Glove finalist. Hector Neris then replaced Javier, and the inning ended with a defensive gem.
Left fielder Michael Brantley, a 36-year-old five-time All-Star who returned in August after missing 14 months with a shoulder injury, sprinted more than 80 feet to make a diving catch in the gap and take an extra-base hit away from Adolis García.
That still might not have been the best defensive play of the night. Alvarez got robbed of what would have been his seventh homer this postseason on a 416-foot drive to straightaway center leading off the sixth. Leody Taveras made a leaping catch with his arm extended beyond the wall.
Scherzer became the second pitcher to start for five teams in the postseason following appearances for the Detroit Tigers, Washington Nationals, Los Angeles Dodgers and the Mets. David Wells started for the Cincinnati Reds, Orioles, New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and San Diego Padres from 1989 to 2006.