Game Five of the ALCS was an instant classic that will go down as one of the greatest games in MLB postseason history. Unfortunately, for the Texas Rangers, they came out on the short end of the stick.
By now, we’ve all seen the benches-clearing brawl that led to Adolis Garcia getting ejected from the game, which seemed to swing the game in the Astros favor before Jose Altuve gave Houston the lead with a three-run home run in the top of the ninth.
The Rangers, however, had a chance to tie or even when the game in the bottom of the 9th when Mitch Garver and Jonah Heim both reached base with no one out.
Up came a mightily struggling Marcus Semien who would rope a 94.6 MPH line drive right to the shortstop and well, you know the rest.
The ending of the game led many fans to wonder if Semien who is 3-21 this series, should have laid down a bunt to move both the runners into scoring position with one out.
Let’s not get it twisted, Marcus Semien is the Rangers’ second-best player and has played at an all-star level for pretty much the entire season. No matter how much he’s struggled, Semien is one of those players who you feel comfortable with taking a big at-bat for your team.
However, a successful sac bunt in that situation would have set the Rangers up in a good spot to tie or even win the game with Corey Seager coming to the plate.
Even if Houston intentionally walked Seager which they likely would have done, that would send Evan Carter to the plate with one out and the bases loaded down by just one run.
Overall, I think a Semien sac bunt in that situation would have set the Rangers up with a better chance of tying or winning the game.
No matter which way you slice it, the Rangers are now down 3-2 in the series and will have to win two straight games in Houston to keep their season alive.
