Jordan Montgomery delivers as Rangers beat Astros in ALCS Game 1
HOUSTON — The Houston Astros and Texas Rangers pored over the pitching market at the trade deadline in hopes of finding arms that would bolster their hopes on a night such as this, which brought an opportunity to seize control of the American League Championship Series.
That’s why the Astros reacquired three-time Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander. That’s why the Rangers added three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer. Yet neither helped his team earn a series-opening win Sunday night at Minute Maid Park.
Instead, it was Jordan Montgomery, whom Texas acquired from the St. Louis Cardinals at the deadline. The left-hander carved up the Astros for 6⅓ innings Sunday night, leaving his bullpen to get just eight outs. And once it did, the Rangers had a 2-0 victory and a 1-0 lead in the ALCS.
Advertisement
Montgomery started once in each of the Rangers’ first two postseason series — seven scoreless innings in Game 1 at Tampa Bay in the first round before an underwhelming four-inning performance against Baltimore in Game 2 of the division series. Both ended in Texas wins. Sunday was no different. Nathan Eovaldi will start Game 2 on Monday afternoon. And with Scherzer and Jon Gray on the ALCS roster after overcoming late-season injuries, Scherzer is in line to start Game 3 back in Arlington.
“If it doesn’t raise your game in the playoffs, I don’t think you’re doing it right,” Montgomery said. “Obviously I’m super excited to take the ball tonight. And anytime I can give my team a chance to win, I’ll do my best.”
Over the past two seasons, the Rangers had built a roster that could compete with that of Houston, the model of consistency in the AL. The Astros’ reputation precedes them — they have six AL West titles in the past seven seasons to go with two World Series crowns, including last year’s. Before this year, the Rangers had endured six straight losing seasons. But they hoped to close the gap with free agent additions made in the past two offseasons: infielders Corey Seager and Marcus Semien in 2021, then pitchers Jacob deGrom and Eovaldi in 2022.
Advertisement
They did just that in the early portion of this season, maintaining the division lead most of the way. But even as the Rangers tried to pull away, the Astros kept them in sight. Houston went 9-4 against them this season, including a three-game sweep in September in which they outscored Texas 39-10. As the Rangers continued to stumble, the Astros lengthened their stride, closed the gap and won the division on the season’s final day as both teams finished 90-72.
Now they have a new race, shorter in length but bigger in significance. And players from both teams insisted before Game 1 that those regular season matchups don’t matter in October.
Verlander left Houston in the offseason to join the New York Mets. But after the Mets stumbled badly, they dealt Verlander back to Houston, just days after they had sent Scherzer to the Rangers. Verlander, a 40-year-old future Hall of Famer, not only fortified the Astros’ rotation, he was the unquestioned ace of a staff that struggled down the stretch.
Verlander took the mound Sunday for the 36th postseason start of his career, second all-time behind Andy Pettitte (44). He sits at the top of the list for postseason strikeouts. And yet for the first three innings Sunday, he couldn’t get a swing and miss. The Rangers seemed to make contact on every ball in the strike zone, fouling it off or putting it in play. And they didn’t chase any of Verlander’s secondary pitches.
Advertisement
Rangers rookie Evan Carter opened the scoring in the second inning; he legged out a double and came home on Jonah Heim’s single. Texas would swing at 25 pitches before Nathaniel Lowe finally swung through a slider in the fourth — on Verlander’s 47th pitch.
Verlander would only get seven swings and misses on 52 Texas offerings over 6⅔ innings. And in the fifth, No. 9 hitter Leody Taveras launched a solo shot to the right field seats to pad the Rangers’ lead.
“We just found a way to get a couple of runs across the board,” Rangers Manager Bruce Bochy said. “That was the difference in the game, obviously. But our guy was really good — Monty, terrific job he did.”
Montgomery managed just 10 whiffs on 47 swings by the Astros, but he got them when he needed them most. In the third, Yordan Alvarez came up with two on and two outs. Montgomery had struck him out during a five-pitch at-bat in the first inning in which he only threw pitches on the inside part of the plate. He followed the same formula in their second meeting, save for a second-pitch fastball that Alvarez swung through and a curveball in the dirt that he chased to end the inning. The Astros then loaded the bases in the fourth, but Montgomery threw a fastball past Martín Maldonado to end the threat.
Advertisement
“Nothing’s straight, and nothing’s the same,” Heim said of Montgomery’s offerings. “... Sometimes he steps on the brakes with a curveball, and other times he rams a four-seam in on you. It makes my job easy when you can do all three.”
“He threw a heck of a game tonight,” Astros Manager Dusty Baker said. “He had a good fastball. He was throwing harder than I remember. We hadn’t seen him in a long time. And he had a curveball, pretty good change-up. We had him on the ropes a couple of times.”
The Astros had one more opportunity after Montgomery exited. In the eighth, Aroldis Chapman entered to face Alex Bregman with Jose Altuve on first. Bregman hit a flyball to left-center that looked like it would leave the park and tie the score.
Carter had never played at Minute Maid Park, with its unusual dimensions in left field. But teammates Travis Jankowski and Robbie Grossman gave him tips before the game. That paid dividends when he made a leaping catch at the wall to rob Bregman. Altuve had rounded second base but didn’t touch it on his return to first and was ruled out, for a double play, after a replay review. José Leclerc then closed the door in the ninth.
Advertisement
“I had no idea if we were going to be able to double him up or not,” Carter said. “Once I caught it, I’m just going to get it in as quick as possible — you never know what’s going to happen.”
Likewise, this pitching setup — Montgomery to Eovaldi to Scherzer — was not what the Rangers had expected to happen in August. But they probably imagined a shot at the World Series back then. Thanks to Montgomery, they took another step in that direction Sunday night.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7uK3SoaCnn6Sku7G70q1lnKedZMCxu9GtqmhqYGeAcH2PaGhuZ6KWu6ix0axkmqukp7y0ecClmqxll5a6pnmQZqGoqpSWu265zqeroKedmr%2B6ew%3D%3D