The battle of the Lone Star State began in an interesting way. The Texas Rangers broke out to an early lead in the ALCS after beating the Houston Astros in a 2-0 nail biter. The pitching was the name of the game on Sunday night, with starters Jordan Montgomery (Texas) and Justin Verlander (Houston) both exceeding six innings. With many questions surrounding the Rangers’ bullpen prior to the series opener, Texas’ relief pitchers were able to hurl 2.2 hitless innings to secure the Game 1 victory.
Texas’ first World Series championship is within reach, and the Rangers will try to take another step towards that goal in Game 2 on Monday.
W: Jordan Montgomery (2-0) L: Justin Verlander (1-1) SV: Jose Leclerc (2)
Justin Verlander, Astros
40 year-old Justin Verlander was having a very solid Sunday night, limiting the Rangers’ explosive offence to only 2 Earned Runs over 6.2 innings. Unfortunately for Verlander, the Astros’ offence was unable to provide him with any run support. Verlander did not bring his swing-and-miss stuff on Sunday night, with JV registering his first strikeout in the fifth inning with a fastball low and away to get Rangers’ Josh Jung looking. The Astros will continue to rely on Verlander as they look to win their third-straight ALCS.
Jordan Montgomery, Rangers
The Rangers dealt for Montgomery during the trade deadline, believing that he could provide quality innings for a rotation that had been plagued by injuries. And boy, has this deal been paying off.
Montgomery posted a 2.79 ERA and 3.27 FIP after being traded from St. Louis to Texas. Montgomery’s numbers allowed the veteran starter to take the mound for Game 1 of the ALCS, and he picked up right where he left off. The mix of Montgomery’s sinker and curveball contributed to Astros’ Postseason heroines Kyle Tucker and Yordan Alvarez to go a combined 0-8 on the night, with Alvarez striking out three times. Jordan Montgomery accounted for 40.1 WPA (Win Probability Added). Montgomery’s success will be crucial for the Rangers in this series, especially against an Astros team that has been one of the most successful in terms of playoff heroics.
Offensive Breakdown: Astros:
Houston’s offence was completely silent throughout Sunday night. The Astros had multiple balls in play with exit velocities above 100 MPH, but many of these cases resulted in outs. It was a frustrating night for the Astros’ offensive attack, especially when they were continuously putting the ball in play.
The Rangers are filled with Gold Glovers in the infield, so they were able to competently handle the hard-hit balls that Houston struck. Houston’s offence has been rather inconsistent to begin the postseason, so they’ll need to rebound for Monday to overcome an early deficit.
Offensive Breakdown: Rangers
The Rangers offence wasn’t as potent as all of us saw in the regular season, but they accomplished enough to take the victory. One of the main reasons why the Rangers won this game is because of the emergence of Evan Carter, who was the Rangers’ number one prospect (Per MLB.com). Carter played 22 games to finish the 2023 regular season, posting an elite 1.030 OPS in 72 Plate Appearances. During the playoffs, Carter has picked up right where he left off, putting up a 1.338 OPS in 25 PAs. In the top of the second inning, Carter hit a 1-out double to right field. Jonah Heim, the Rangers’ catcher, singled up the middle to score Evan Carter from second. Then, in the top of the fifth inning, outfielder Leody Taveras crushed a slider from Verlander to right field to extend the Rangers’ lead. The Rangers’ offensive attack did not have their best game, but Texas did just enough to seal the victory.
Top Performers. Astros:
Jeremy Pena (SS) – 1-3
Mauricio Dubon (CF) – 1-3
Justin Verlander (SP) – 6.2 IP, 6 Hits, 2 ER, 5 K’s, 2 BB
Hector Neris (RP) – 1.1 IP, K
Top Performers, Rangers:
Evan Carter (LF) – 1-4, Run, 2B
Jonah Heim (C) – 1-3, RBI, BB
Leody Taveras (CF) – 2-2, Run, HR, RBI, BB
Jordan Montgomery – 6.1 IP, 5 Hits, 0 ER, 6 K’s, BB,
Jose Leclerc – 1.0 IP, 1 K, SV
Game 2 of the battle of Texas goes Monday, October 16, at 4:37 PM EST. Nathan Eovaldi takes the hill for the Rangers, looking for his third win of the postseason. Framber Valdez, who struggled against Minnesota in Game 2 of the ALDS, will get the ball for Houston. The Rangers look to extend their lead in the ALCS to 2-0 Monday afternoon.
Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images