3 Texas Rangers to blame for letting Astros back into the ALCS

The Texas Rangers had a chance to all but end this series with a win at home against the Houston Astros. Yet, as Houston always seems to do, they planted a seed of doubt in the heads of their AL West rivals thanks to a Game 3 victory over the Rangers.

Max Scherzer lasted four innings, but did not pitch his best. Some of that blood is on Bruce Bochy's hands. Yordan Alvarez delivered on multiple occasions. Despite being robbed of a home run in the middle innings, he came through when Houston needed him most, padding their lead and giving the Astros bullpen some breathing room with a two-run single off Will Smith.

There are oh so many storylines here for Houston, as they lived up to the moment. Texas hasn't been here in quite some time, and will have to rely on the expertise of Bochy and their pitching staff. The red-hot Rangers finally had an off night. Here's who to blame.

Texas Rangers should blame Max Scherzer

Max Scherzer did not have it tonight, nor should he have been placed in that situation to begin with. Scherzer was ineffective from the jump, giving up five runs in his first start off a rather serious injury. Scherzer was excited for the opportunity, and had plenty of time to rest up. Frankly, he just didn't have it.

“Just trying to get back in the flow of things and just get in my routines, and I get to pitch,”Scherzer told reporters Tuesday about coming back. “You know, thrilled about that. What an opportunity to go out there and get to pitch in the ALCS. This is what you dream of.”

As I wrote earlier on Wednesday night, the Astros turned Scherzer's dream into a nightmare. Scherzer's last outing was Sept. 12 when he strained his teres muscle in his right shoulder.

Scherzer could very well be a future Hall of Famer, but by no means should he have had such an opportunity.