MLB Playoffs 2020: Examining Latest Results, Highlights and Stats

The 2004 Boston Red Sox are no longer the only team to come back from a three-game deficit in the Major League Baseball postseason. 

The Houston Astros joined them Friday by winning their third consecutive game over the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League Championship Series. 

Dusty Baker's team produced its highest single-game run total of the series in Game 6, as it defeated the Rays 7-4 at Petco Park. 

The top of Houston's order delivered a majority of the key hits. George Springer, Jose Altuve, Michael Brantley and Carlos Correa combined to go 8-of-16 at the plate. 

Those four players have been some of the most successful hitters in the entire series, as they have four of the five highest hit totals. Altuve is the only batter with 10 ALCS hits. 

While Houston's bats received plenty of attention during the comeback, the Game 6 victory would not have been possible without Framber Valdez's pitching performance. 

Valdez struck out nine Rays batters over six innings to bring his series total up to 17 punchouts in 12 frames. 

According to ESPN Stats and Info, Valdez became the second Astros pitcher to record at least nine strikeouts when facing postseason elimination. Gerrit Cole fanned 10 batters against Tampa Bay in ALCS Game 5 in 2019. 

Tampa Bay finds itself in an unfortunate position and could join the 2004 New York Yankees as the only teams to blow three-game leads and lose the series in MLB postseason history.

The Rays have been unable to match the Astros' production at the dish, as they have not scored more than five runs in a single ALCS contest. 

Randy Arozarena and Manuel Margot are responsible for 14 of the team's 38 hits and six of its nine ALCS home runs. 

They are two of five Tampa Bay players with three or more hits in the series. Seven Houston players possess four or more hits. 

Prior to Game 5 of the National League Championship Series, the Los Angeles Dodgers could have been criticized for not getting enough production from their top hitters. 

In their 7-2 win over the Atlanta Braves, Mookie Betts went 2-of-4 and Will Smith delivered a three-run home run. The two hitters combined for four hits in the first four games. 

Smith's sixth-inning home run was unique because it occurred against Atlanta reliever Will Smith. As ESPN Stats and Info noted, it was the first batter-versus-pitcher matchup in the MLB postseason to feature two players with the same name. 

Smith was one of four Atlanta relievers to concede an earned run Friday. That trimmed the list of Atlanta pitchers to not allow a run down to four. 

Chris Martin and Mark Melancon are two of those hurlers, and they could be called upon in relief of Max Fried in Saturday's Game 6 to avoid landing in a Game 7.

Game 6 could be a low-scoring affair if it follows the way of Game 1, where each team forced one run off Fried and Walker Buehler. 

Help from the bottom third of the order was non-existent in the series opener. Atlanta had one hit from hitters No. 6 through No. 9 and Los Angeles produced two hits from batters No. 5 through No. 9. 

Whichever team flips the order over better could gain the advantage. If Atlanta wins, it will focus on World Series preparation. If the Dodgers win, Game 7 will be Sunday night.

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.

Statistics obtained from Baseball Reference.