ALCS and NLCS Recap

It's official, the World Series is set. The Texas Rangers vs. Arizona Diamondbacks.

Let’s recap how these teams won their respective championship league series’.

ALCS: Texas Rangers vs. Houston Astros

The American League Championship series held a Texas state battle.

The reigning World Series Champions, the Houston Astros, who have been to the ALCS the past seven consecutive years vs. the Texas Rangers who haven't made the playoffs in the past seven years.

Although it didn’t come easily, the Rangers seized their opportunity and were able to defeat one of the best teams in baseball in a seven-game series.

The Rangers started the series with a 2-0 lead with two big on-the-road wins in Houston.

The Rangers allowed zero runs for the Astros in Game 1 with a 2-0 win to set the tone for the series.

In Game 2, the Rangers struck early taking a 4-0 lead after the first inning. The Astros tried to crawl back one homerun at a time but they couldn’t get the job done and fell to the Rangers 5-4.

The Astros traveled to the Rangers stadium for Games 3, 4 and 5.

Being the best on the road team in the league, the Astros won three straight at Globe Life Field to take the series lead.

Houston showed up in Game 3 scoring three runs in the 2nd with the help of a few Rangers errors and back-to-back hits. The Astros held on tight to the lead and ended up winning 8-5.

The Astros came back even stronger for Game 4 with three immediate runs to take the lead early and ultimately never looked back. The Astros took Game 4 10-3 with ease.

Game 5 was the closest battle of the series, the Rangers were up 4-2 until the top of the ninth when Astros Jose Altuve hit a three-run homer to take the lead 5-4.

The Astros lead the series 3-2 heading back home to Houston but the Rangers ended their hot streak abruptly and took Game 6 and 7 right out from under them.

The Rangers tied up the series 3-3 after a dominant 9-2 win in Game 6 due to an Adolis Garcia grand slam in the top of the ninth.

With Garcia red hot they simply couldn’t be stopped and thus the Rangers solidified their trip to the World Series with an 11-4 win in Game 7. Garcia went 4-for-5 with five RBIs and two home runs to put the cherry on top for the Rangers.

The Rangers owe it all to their secret weapon Garcia who set an MLB postseason record with 15 RBIs, was awarded the MVP of the series and added five home runs in the mix as well.

In all seven games of the ALCS home field advantage didn’t exist as neither team won at their home field.

The Rangers have never won a World Series and they are certainly hungry to bring their title back to Texas.

NLCS: Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Philadelphia Phillies

The National League series was a face-off between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The Philadelphia Phillies lost a heartbreaker to the Astros in the World Series last year after returning to the playoffs for the first time since 2011. This year they were hopeful to advance to get another shot at bringing home the trophy.

The Diamondbacks on the other hand snuck into the playoffs for the first time since 2017.

The Diamondbacks thrived as underdogs and were able to take down the Fightins in a back-and-forth seven-game series.

The Phillies started just where they wanted to be, at Citizens Bank Park, and with the help of their fans, they were able to take Games 1 and 2 at home, starting themselves off with a comfortable 2-0 series lead.

The Phillies rang the bell early in Game 1 with two home runs right off the bat from Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper.

If there is one thing to know about the Phillies…when they get started, they don’t stop.

The Phillies took Game 1 5-3 and then Game 2 with a dominant 10-0 win.

As soon as the Phillies touched down in Arizona their magic started to fade.

The Diamondbacks won Game 3 2-1 in a walkoff knock by Ketel Marte.

The Snakes snuck up on the Phillies again in Game 4. Down heading into the eighth inning, the Dbacks found the momentum to gain a 6-5 lead and tie the series 2-2.

The Phillies answered back with an easy 6-1 dub in Game 5 which would be their last game in Arizona.

The stage was pretty much set for the Phillies as they headed back to Philly with a 3-2 lead and arguably the best home-field advantage in the league.

Heading into Game 6 the Phillies were 6-0 at home this postseason but that quickly changed as the Diamondbacks were eager to force a Game 7 and stole a 5-1 win at the Bank.

A Game 7 was unpredicted heading into this series but the Dbacks made it happen.

The Fightins certainly did fight but not hard enough as they came up short with a 4-2 loss in Game 7.

Marte extended his postseason hitting streak to 16 games, making it the longest by any player to start his postseason career in MLB history. Not only did he earn his team a trip to the World Series but he earned the NLCS MVP honor.

The Phillies will not redeem themselves this year and the Diamondbacks advance for a chance at the World Series title for the first time since 2001.

Gia is a second-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact her, please email gms6168@psu.edu.