October’s most dangerous hitter stood on deck, its most dominant starting pitcher stood on the ropes and Alex Bregman stood in a 3-0 count. He got there 44 times during the regular season and worked 32 walks while totaling two hits — a .773 on-base percentage for the Houston Astros’ most selective hitter.

Hitting third in the batting order means Bregman must pass a baton. The phrase encapsulates Houston’s entire offensive approach, one on display during the past three games of this American League Championship Series. The lineup worked wonderful at-bats from top to bottom, bludgeoned the Texas Rangers in their home ballpark and put itself on the precipice of a pennant.

Bregman sought to bring his club closer in the fifth inning. Nathan Eovaldi plunked nine-hole hitter Martín Maldonado to start the frame but followed it with Jose Altuve’s first-pitch flyout and a strikeout of Michael Brantley on a sublime splitter.

Eovaldi’s first three pitches to Bregman sailed outside. A center-cut fastball got him back in the count, but expecting Bregman to swing felt silly. Bregman had one hit in a 3-0 count during the regular season and put just four balls in play.

Yordan Alvarez loomed on deck, turning Bregman’s foremost objective into a simple one: find a way to get on base. Alvarez arrived on Sunday 9-for-13 lifetime against Eovaldi, who had no intention to inflate the numbers. Alvarez received an intentional walk in the third inning with a runner already on first base, but doing it again with two aboard in the fifth felt impossible.

One ball or base hit separated Bregman from putting Eovaldi in the predicament. The pitcher chose a cutter in a 3-1 count. It flattened in the heart of Bregman’s strike zone. Bregman began his swing but opened up too early. The fly ball traveled 22 feet into foul territory, settled into catcher Jonah Heim’s glove and prevented Alvarez from approaching the batter’s box.

“Bad mechanical swing on my part,” Bregman said.

Bregman missed a pitch he often bludgeons. For three days in Arlington, such a scenario felt impossible. The Astros annihilated all of Texas’ mistakes and erased a series deficit because of it.

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