Jose Altuve hit a three-run homer in the ninth inning and the Houston Astros, following another bench-clearing scuffle with the Texas Rangers, rallied for a 5-4 victory Friday in a wild Game 5 of the AL Championship Series.
After winning all three matchups at rival Texas, the defending World Series champions head back home to Houston needing one win to capture a third consecutive pennant. They lead 3-2 in the best-of-seven playoff going into Game 6 on Sunday night.
Adolis García began a slow trot and spiked his bat after his towering three-run homer off Justin Verlander gave Texas a 4-2 lead in the sixth. Bryan Abreu hit the slugger on the left arm with a 98 mph fastball his next time up, and an angry García immediately turned to get in the face of catcher Martín Maldonado — the two also jawed nose-to-nose when García touched home plate after his grand slam in Houston on July 26.
Both benches and bullpens emptied, although it didn’t appear any punches were thrown as the teams grabbed hold of each other near home plate. Once things settled down, García, Abreu and Astros manager Dusty Baker had been ejected during a delay that lasted almost 12 minutes.
Altuve connected off Rangers closer José Leclerc in the ninth for his 26th career postseason homer, second in major league history behind Manny Ramirez (29).
The AL West champion Astros are 5-0 on the road this postseason and have won 19 of their past 22 games away from home overall.
Houston went 9-1 at Globe Life Field this year, winning its last eight in a row while outscoring Texas 79-36 during that span.
