Friday was the most thrilling night yet of the 2023 MLB playoffs — and it might have been one of the most thrilling nights in postseason history, period.
Never before had multiple playoff teams overcome a multi-run deficit in the eighth inning or later. In the American League Championship Series, Jose Altuve and the defending World Series champion Houston Astros rallied from down 4-2 in the ninth inning to defeat the Texas Rangers and move one win from returning to the Fall Classic. In the National League, the underdog Arizona Diamondbacks erased a 5-3 Philadelphia Phillies lead in the eighth inning to tie the NLCS at two.
But that doesn’t tell the whole story. Along the way, we had a thundering bat flip and a benches-clearing brawl, a home run into a pool and a ground ball bouncing wildly around the infield. Here are our five favorite moments from a wild night of October baseball.
1. Jose Altuve — who else? — hits a go-ahead home run in the ninth
Jose Altuve — the face of an Astros franchise playing in its seventh straight ALCS — comes up huge for Houston yet again. With runners on first and second after a single and a walk off Rangers closer Jose Leclerc, Altuve sends a ball sailing to left field — just out of rookie Evan Carter‘s grasp — for a three-run, go-ahead homer that drains the life out of a raucous Globe Life Field. The visiting Astros take a 5-4 lead and don’t relinquish it, en route to winning all three games in Arlington and heading home needing just one victory to return to the World Series for the fifth time in seven years.
Stat to know: This is the third time in MLB history a team took a 3-2 series lead after dropping the first two games at home in a best-of-seven postseason series. The Astros, in 2023 and 2019, have now accounted for two of them.
0:39
Garcia stuns Verlander with go-ahead 3-run HR for Rangers
Adolis Garcia crushes a three-run homer off Justin Verlander to give the Rangers the lead.
2. Adolis Garcia puts the Rangers ahead, celebrates with a dramatic bat flip
Before Altuve spoils the party for the Rangers, Adolis Garcia rocks Texas with a dramatic game-changing home run, followed by a bat flip — or bat slam — and a slow, deliberate trot around the bases that doesn’t exactly endear himself to the Astros (see moment No. 3). After Corey Seager doubles and Evan Carter follows with a single to put runners on the corners, Garcia hits a three-run blast — his fourth homer of the postseason — to give Texas a 4-2 lead.
Stat to know: According to ESPN Analytics, up 4-2 in the eighth inning, the Rangers had a 96% chance to take a 3-2 series lead.
1:57
Benches clear, multiple ejections after Adolis Garcia is hit by a pitch
Benches clear after Adolis Garcia gets hit by a pitch, leading to multiple ejections and Dusty Baker refusing to leave the dugout after getting tossed.
3. Garcia gets hit — and the benches clear
In his next at-bat after his dramatic home run, Garcia gets drilled by Houston reliever Bryan Abreu‘s fastball, causing the benches to clear as Garcia and Astros catcher Martin Maldonado exchange heated words. Abreu is ejected from this game. Dusty Baker, who throws his cap against the railing while arguing with umpires, is tossed too (and temporarily refuses to leave the dugout). Shortly after, Adolis Garcia is also ejected.
Stat to know: Friday was Dusty Baker’s 106th playoff game as a manager. It was the first time he’s been ejected.
0:27
Splash down! Alek Thomas’ game-tying HR lands in the pool
Alek Thomas comes up as a pinch hitter and crushes a game-tying two-run home run for the Diamondbacks in the eighth inning.
4. Alek Thomas makes a splash — literally — for the D-backs
The Phillies’ bullpen melts down after taking a 5-3 lead into the eighth inning. After a Lourdes Gurriel Jr. double and an Evan Longoria lineout, pinch hitter Alek Thomas drives a game-tying home run off Craig Kimbrel… right into the Chase Field swimming pool. Later in the inning, with Jose Alvarado now pitching for Philly, catcher Gabrile Moreno delivers the biggest hit of his young career, singling to plate a run and put Arizona ahead for good.
Stat to know: Alek Thomas is the ninth player in MLB history with a game-tying, pinch-hit home run in the eighth inning or later in a playoff game. At 23, he’s the youngest to do it.
0:49
Phillies grab lead after Emmanuel Rivera’s low throw home
With the bases loaded, Diamondbacks 3B Emmanuel Rivera’s throw home is low, allowing the Phillies to score two runs and take the lead.
5. The Phillies score two runs … on a grounder to third
After D-backs lefty Andrew Saalfrank loads the bases on three walks, he’s replaced by Ryan Thompson, who manages to induce a ground ball to third base off the bat of Alec Bohm. Emmanuel Rivera‘s momentum, however, takes him into foul territory, away from home plate. It’s a difficult throw for a force play, and sure enough, the ball bounces off catcher Gabriel Moreno, allowing not only Kyle Schwarber but also Trea Turner, who never slows down as he rounds third, to score.
Stat to know: Entering Friday, the Phillies were 40-3 (.930) in their playoff history when leading by three-plus runs in the seventh inning or later.
