ARLINGTON, Texas — Cristian Javier stood patiently at the entrance to the press conference room inside Globe Life Field. As usual, the Astros hurler was stone-faced when his catcher, Martín Maldonado, marched up to him. Maldonado smiled big, but Javier didn’t return the favor. It’s not in the right-hander’s nature to show emotion — not even with his teammates.
So, Maldonado put his index and middle fingers together and lifted them to the left side of Javier’s neck. As Maldonado jokingly checked Javier’s pulse, with the former still smiling and the latter still not, Maldonado said “tranquilo,” which means calm in Spanish.
“There’s no moment too big for him,” Maldonado said. “That guy, you don’t see any blood going through his veins. He’s the right guy for us.”
Maybe it was his slow pulse. Maybe it was his proven ability to shove in October. Maybe it was his 11 swings and misses, the most for an Astro in this American League Championship Series. Whatever Javier’s secret sauce involves, his postseason magic worked again on Wednesday night in a critical Game 3 that his teammates called “do-or-die.” Javier, so cold-blooded that his nickname is “El Reptil,” kept the Rangers offense at bay long enough for the Astros to storm ahead.
Houston’s 8-5 win over Texas cut its series deficit in half. Even so, there is still enormous pressure on the Astros to make up ground. The Rangers lead the ALCS 2-1 with two more home games remaining. Just like Houston’s regular season, nothing about this situation is comfortable. The club cannot afford to curtail its momentum now.
“I am not thinking about being down 3-0,” Dusty Baker before his Game 3 win.
And now, he won’t have to.
While the Astros would prefer to shield their eyes from Javier’s regular-season results (10-5, 4.56 ERA, 1.265 WHIP, 162 innings), his recent postseason performances have been nothing short of spectacular.
In last year’s Fall Classic, Javier got the ball for Game 4 at Citizens Bank Park with the Phillies leading the series, 2-1. With Houston’s back against the wall, Javier responded by throwing a no-hitter through six shutout frames. That night, the Astros pitching staff combined to no-hit the Phillies, a significant momentum shift in the World Series initiated by Javier’s start. Last week, with his club tied 1-1 in the ALDS with the Twins, Javier again got the ball on the road and hurled five scoreless innings, leading the Astros to victory.
Wednesday night at Globe Life Field featured more of the same from the steely El Reptil.
Javier, by the way, loves his nickname. He said he relates to reptiles, and that his favorite vertebrate is a crocodile. Why?
“Crocodiles seem like they’re calm,” Javier said. “But when they get in the water they can get aggressive.”
Seeming calm but having underlying destructiveness also summarizes this Astros squad — when they’re on the road. We all expected Houston to perform better away from Minute Maid Park, including Astros players themselves. They jumped on Max Scherzer, who made his first start since going on the injured list with a shoulder injury in September, and forced him off the mound after just four innings. Plenty of damage was done — Scherzer coughed up five earned runs on five hits, including a home run to José Altuve — across just 63 pitches. This was certainly not the version of Scherzer the Rangers wanted, but it is perhaps the one to expect.
For the third straight year, and for the third different team, Scherzer has disappointed in the postseason. The veteran right-hander has allowed 14 earned runs in his last 13 playoff innings pitched for the Dodgers, the Mets and, now, the Rangers. He’s given up six home runs in that span.
The Astros feasted off Scherzer on Sept. 6 in Arlington, when he surrendered seven earned runs, including three home runs, in just three innings. The sight of his once-imposing figure on the mound was welcomed by Houston in Game 3. If the series extends long enough that Scherzer’s turn is up again, Rangers skipper Bruce Bochy might have a dilemma on his hands. A possible silver lining for the future Hall of Famer is that the start would come in Houston.
But that’s a matter for later. For now, the road-juggernaut Astros are doing what they do best.
Deesha Thosar is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.
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