Crocodile mentality: Cristian Javier's secret to success for ALCS Game 3

ARLINGTON, Texas — With the Texas Rangers winning the first two games of their 2023 ALCS matchup against the Houston Astros on the road, the defending World Champions have their backs against the wall when the matchup resumes Wednesday night here inside Globe Life Field.

However, the man on the mound for the Astros on a critical Wednesday may well have set the tone for his start in pregame media sessions.

Cristian Javier gives awesome quote about mentality coming into ALCS Game 3

If you check out Javier's page on Baseball-Reference, you will see that his nickname is listed as, "El Reptil." With that in mind, reporters asked Javier about his nickname and which reptile was his favorite. The 26-year-old right-hander was quick with his response.

"Crocodile," Javier said.

And why is that?

"Crocodiles seem like they're calm. But when they get in the water, they can get aggressive."

The Astros may feel like they are surrounded by crocodiles with the arch-rival Rangers not only playing at home for the next three games, but also playing with plenty of confidence. Texas has won seven consecutive games to open the postseason, becoming just the sixth team in MLB history to capture seven or more wins in a row to begin the playoffs.

However, Javier and his mentality may be just what the Astros need to cool off the Texas bats. In his only start of the postseason so far, Javier limited the Minnesota Twins to just one hit over 5.0 scoreless innings in the ALDS. While Javier needed to walk the tightrope by issuing five base on balls during that appearance, he was also aggressive, striking out nine Twins to limit the opportunities to do damage.

Houston will need that aggressiveness from Javier on Wednesday night if they hope to avoid falling into a 3-0 hole against arguably the hottest MLB team still playing.