Baseball is a weird sport. A team can score 10 runs in one game and then score none the next. In the case of the Houston Astros and the 2023 ALCS, the defending World Series champions won three straight on the road, scoring 23 runs in the process, then followed it with a 9-2 loss to the Texas Rangers at home to force a Game 7 for the American League pennant.

The visiting team won all six games so far in the series and if that trend continues with Game 7 Monday night, it would be curtains on the Astros season. Houston's recent home record certainly doesn’t pour much confidence into a fanbase that is not used to seeing its team in this position.

Including the playoffs, the Astros are 5-15 at home since the start of September, according to Robert Flores. Houston is 1-4 at home in the playoffs after going 11-4 at home in the previous two postseasons.

The MLB playoffs are a different beast and sometimes produce things that defy all logic. The Astros and Rangers going to a decisive seventh game in the ALCS was not necessarily unexpected, but the way the series has unfolded is.

The Astros can erase all worries about the lack of home-field advantage with a win Monday night. They might not get an actual home-field advantage for the World Series with a Game 7 win, but at least they'll be back in the Fall Classic to defend their title.

Despite the lack of success, the Minute Maid Park crowd will definitely be bouncing for what will likely be one of the most-watched baseball games of the 2023 season.