ATLANTA — The intensity of the enmity between Houston Astros and Texas Rangers supporters was revealed to Nathaniel Lowe.

He was playing golf in Houston on a non-essential day in 2021, his first season with the Rangers, when an Astros fan confronted him and used foul language.

The first baseman for the Rangers stated, “It’s a heated rivalry.” “I understand why there’s some animosity, but for me personally, other than losing to those guys more than I want to, there’s not too much I have invested in that.”

Ahead of the team’s first postseason matchup in the ALCS, the Rangers players are keeping any genuine animosity between the two teams off the field to themselves. Game 1 of the series starts on Sunday at Minute Maid Park in Houston at 7:15 p.m.

Do these groups despise one another?

“You know what, you might have to ask them all,” stated Bruce Bochy, manager of the Rangers. “I suppose that’s how baseball ought to be. I don’t think there should be a love fest outside since they’re your opponent. Do you agree?

Absolutely not, Bruce. If interactions on social media are any guide, supporters of both sides are undoubtedly prepared to take the game to the streets. Regardless of our sports franchises, there has always been a rivalry between Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston.

“I believe there are only two teams that are serious about winning. Both of us think our teams are worthy of championships,” Rangers stated Mitch Garver. “I believe that more people talk about Texas than the players do—the fans. We are in the same division, we see each other frequently, and occasionally there may be altercations. There are just two teams that think they are the greatest.”

But over the years, the organizations haven’t exactly been best friends. The Astros claimed that following Hurricane Havey in 2017, the Rangers abandoned both the team and the city of Houston. The Astros described the event in a way that the Rangers denied, and the teams played a neutral-site series in Tampa Bay. Subsequently, with the AL West championship at stake two weeks prior, the Astros’ social media page made some veiled jabs at the Rangers’ celebration in Seattle following their postseason berth.

On the other hand, the Astros, having done the same in Arizona, made a straightforward toast. General manager of the Rangers Chris Young took issue with how an MLB.com beat writer for the Astros depicted the team’s celebration, suggesting that they were not as focused on capturing the AL West by winning the regular-season finale. On game’s last day, Texas lost and the Astros prevailed, both teams finished 90-72. Houston won the West because they had a 9-4 head-to-head advantage against Texas.

“Every series has been tough,” Jonah Heim, the catcher for the Rangers, remarked. “To the fans, all I can say is to try to be kind and avoid using harsh language. It promises to be thrilling and enjoyable.

With the World Series at stake, Bochy thinks both teams will be too focused on winning to be distracted by any pranks from the regular season.

“I believe you make progress. The intensity is high. And I’d say we’re rivals,” Bochy declared, predicting more occasions in the future—if not in the ALCS—when the bench would need to be cleared. “The games will include a great deal of intensity, and that is inevitable. I’m sure it won’t be the last time it occurs. This all-Texas series is sure to be fantastic. There will be a lot of running around.”

With the playoff-tested Astros playing in their AL-record seventh consecutive ALCS and vying for their third World Series title in the last seven seasons, the Rangers are the up-and-coming team.

“They are the reigning champions so you have to give them respect for that … but I’d say we have as equally a chance to win as they do,” Garver stated.

The Rangers are still chasing their first World Series championship and are making an attempt to make it back to the World Series for the third time, first since 2011.

When Lowe declared in March that the Rangers were going to lose the AL West, it caused some people to take notice—and outrage in Houston.

“I’m sure some people said some pretty nice things in my in-box,” he laughed. “But since it was March in Pittsburgh, none of the players on any squad should have any doubts about their chances of winning the division. Does this mean I have to retract what I said and say it wasn’t our division? Perhaps a little, but we did lose, and I think we could have won the whole thing if we had improved in a few areas throughout the season. However, it was in the past. We feel good about our chances moving into Sunday and we’re in a terrific position to compete for a World Series.”

Lowe was in the middle of the July scuffle in Houston when a Framber Valdez fastball whizzed by his head. Texas faced him a month later in Arlington when the Astros swept the Rangers and outscored them 39-10.

“They beat the brakes off us,” Lowe said. “I don’t expect anything to get too out of hand like [July 26]. We’ve got our work cut out for us. It’s going to be loud, there might be some theatrics here and there. Their catcher [Maldanodo] is a real gamesman, so whether he says hello before the first at-bat will probably dictate how he acts for the entire series but we’re going to compete. We’re going to play hard.

“They have a good team over there. We have a good team in this clubhouse. Sure, emotions are going to get involved,” he said. “It’s hard not to with the way the fanbases interact. But if we play too many emotional games we’re going to lose sight of winning one pitch at a time and we’re at our best when we win one pitch at a time.”