The Houston Astros will begin their three game road stretch against the Texas Rangers in the ALCS on Wednesday knowing that they have been dominant in that stadium this season.
No team in the MLB Playoffs wants to be facing a 2-0 deficit before heading out for the road portion of a series.
It normally spells disaster.
90% of teams in the current 2-3-2 format who win the first two games on the road have won the series.
Only 14 of 89 teams have comeback to win after losing the first two games.
It's only happened twice in the 2000s, with the last one coming in the COVID season of 2020.
The silver lining for the Houston Astros heading into this stretch beginning on Wednesday is their domination over the Texas Rangers when playing in Arlington.
This season, the Astros are 6-1 against them when on the road.
They've outscored the Rangers 63-29 at Globe Life Field, including a 39-10 mark during the final regular season meeting between these two teams in early September.
Houston had chances in the first two games of the ALCS to get runs on the board, but only managed to get five across the plate while at home.
"It's very disappointing. But the guys up there are doing their damnedest to push those runs across," manager Dusty Baker said. "Like I said before, the name of the game is RBIs. So we just didn't push those runs across.
Heading into this one, the Astros could be feeling more confident away from their own ballpark.
They had the third-best road record in the MLB during the regular season and their offensive metrics are much better across the board.
Houston will be facing Max Scherzer on Wednesday in what is virtually a "must-win" game.