‘Terrific’ Montgomery lifts Rangers to Game 1 win
-
Bradford Doolittle, ESPN Staff Writer
HOUSTON — Jordan Montgomery came up big in the Texas Rangers‘ biggest game of the year, continuing a personal scoreless streak, helping his club to preserve a perfect postseason and, just maybe, earning a new nickname in the process.
Montgomery outdueled future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander on Sunday, tossing 6⅓ scoreless innings in Texas’ 2-0 Game 1 victory over the defending champion Houston Astros in the American League Championship Series. The gem was Montgomery’s second straight scoreless effort in the playoffs, as pitching remains the key to Texas’ startling 6-0 postseason mark.
“If [starting] doesn’t raise your game in the playoffs, I don’t think you’re doing it right,” Montgomery said. “Obviously, I was super excited to take the ball tonight. And anytime I can give my team a chance to win, I’ll do my best.”
The Rangers, the AL’s No. 5 seed, have opened each of their three playoffs series on the road and won every Game 1, becoming just the fourth team to accomplish the feat. The Texas staff has posted a 1.83 team ERA during the spree and recorded four quality starts, most of any postseason team, including two from Montgomery.
No one had a better vantage point of Montgomery’s mastery than Rangers catcher Jonah Heim, who singled, walked and drove in one of the Rangers’ two runs. It was Heim who might have given Montgomery a new moniker, calling him “Big Guy” as he threw his arms around the clutch lefty in the clubhouse.
“That was the first time [calling him that],” Heim said. “I don’t know where that came from. But it’s a good one.”
Montgomery carved up the Astros by mixing in curveballs, four-seam fastballs and a few changeups along with his trademark sinker, moving all of his offerings around the strike zone and just out of it. The vaunted Houston offense was off-balance all through Montgomery’s outing.
“Nothing’s straight, and nothing’s the same,” Heim said. “Same release point, ball gets on you, big guy. Sometimes, he steps on the brakes with his curveball, and other times, he rams in a four-seam on you. It makes my job easy.”
Montgomery had to be on his game because Verlander was proving to be almost as stingy against the high-scoring Texas offense, holding the Rangers to Heim’s RBI single in the second and a solo homer by Leody Taveras on a hanging Verlander slider in the fifth.
“Sometimes, you have to tip your hat,” Verlander said. “Jordan pitched incredibly well.”
With both Montgomery and Verlander throwing into the seventh inning, Game 1 had as close to an old-school pitching duel as you get in an era of quick hooks for starters. The contest was the first in this year’s playoffs in which both starters went six-plus innings.
“Both sides, great pitching,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said. “We just found a way to get a couple of runs across the board. That was the difference in the game, obviously. But our guy was really good, Monty; terrific job he did.”
Montgomery struck out six batters, getting Houston’s star slugger Yordan Alvarez for three of the whiffs. Montgomery threw 90 pitches and scattered five Houston singles. He said he felt like he had plenty left in the tank too when he was taken out of the game.
“I thought in the seventh that I had a little longer leash and that I would at least go until someone got on base or whatever, but obviously, [Bochy] pulled me,” Montgomery said. “I was trying to go as deep as I could.”
Montgomery had more than a little help from his defense, as well, with rookie left fielder Evan Carter making a leaping grab of an Alex Bregman liner in the first. Carter, 21, then made the play of the game by nabbing an eighth-inning Bregman drive against the fence in left-center, a play that resulted in a double play after Jose Altuve failed to retouch second base while retreating to first base.
“Our guys played well,” Bochy said. “Our defense was outstanding tonight. The kid, Carter, what a game he had out there.’
Carter also scored the first run of the game on Heim’s single after stretching a grounder that leaked into right field into a double.
“I’m just having fun. That’s what it’s all about,” Carter said. “We’re playing a game. And it’s a fun one too.”
Everyone on the Texas side of Minute Maid Park was having fun after the Rangers grabbed the series lead against their cross-state nemesis. But the Rangers also know that the Astros, playing in their seventh consecutive ALCS, are not going to be daunted by one two-run loss.
“We’ve lost Game 1 of some playoff series before,” Verlander said. “And that’s the great thing about this team. Obviously, nobody is sitting in the locker room right now happy. But it’s very matter-of-fact. OK, we just got punched. How do you answer?”
TORONTO — The Blue Jays‘ George Springer homered on the first pitch from Seattle‘s Bryce Miller in the American League Championship Series opener Sunday, moving past the New York Yankees‘ Derek Jeter into sole possession of fifth place on the career list with his 21st postseason home run.
Springer’s 385-foot drive to right field on a fastball at the outside corner put Toronto ahead with the first postseason leadoff home run in Blue Jays history. Springer has 63 leadoff homers in the regular season, second to Rickey Henderson’s record 81.
Manny Ramirez hit a record 29 postseason homers and is trailed by Jose Altuve (27), Kyle Schwarber (23) and Bernie Williams (22).
However, also in the first inning, Blue Jays outfielder Nathan Lukes fouled a ball off his right knee, falling in pain. He stayed in the game and drew a 12-pitch walk, then flied out leading off the third and was replaced by Myles Straw for the start of the fourth.
The team said he bruised his knee and was being further evaluated.
Lukes went 4-for-12 with five RBIs in Toronto’s division series win over the Yankees, including a key two-run single in the Game 4 clincher. He also made a diving catch in Toronto’s Game 1 win.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
-
Jesse Rogers
MILWAUKEE — The Los Angeles Dodgers will start lefty Blake Snell in Game 1 of the NLCS against the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday night while righty Yoshinobu Yamamoto will get the ball in Game 2. It means Shohei Ohtani will get just one start in the series, during the middle leg back in Los Angeles.
“He’ll pitch at some point, but we just don’t know which day,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said on Sunday.
Unlike in previous spots, the Dodgers are not concerned with pitching Ohtani before a day off, choosing to maximize rest for the other starters as the team embarks on its first best-of-seven series this postseason.
“Not as important,” Roberts said. “I think just appreciating having four starters in a potential seven-game series and who can pitch potentially twice, and that’s kind of the impetus, versus Shohei having that day off after a game.”
Ohtani is hitting just .148 this month with a 4.50 ERA over six postseason innings. Roberts was asked if the pitching plan for him was related to his slump at the plate.
“No, not at all,” Roberts answered. “I think it was just kind of Shohei’s going to pitch one game this series. So, it’s one game and then you have two other guys that potentially can pitch on regular rest.”
The Brewers are likely to counter with an opener in Game 1 before handing the ball to a starter for “bulk” innings.
“Game 1 looks, ‘OK, who on our team that can give us length,'” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “[Jose] Quintana, [Quinn] Priester, something like that — give us bulk.”
Murphy indicated righty Freddy Peralta would start Game 2 and then they’ll figure out Game 3 after that. He wasn’t sure yet if rookie Jacob Misiorowski would start a game or pitch multiple innings out of the bullpen.
“I don’t know,” Murphy stated. “I really don’t know. That hasn’t been concrete yet. There’s a possibility he’d start.”
Rosters don’t have to be turned in until Monday morning, but the Dodgers are considering carrying just two catchers as Will Smith‘s hand injury isn’t a big concern. He caught the entirety of Games 3 and 4 in the NLDS.
“I have a couple of conversations to have shortly,” Roberts said. “But yeah, that’s a good thought.”
-
Jorge Castillo
TORONTO — Blue Jays rookie Trey Yesavage will start Game 2 of the American League Championship Series on Monday, the team announced Sunday.
With the announcement, Yesagave addressed the media before Game 1 at Rogers Centre and began his news conference with an unprompted statement decrying the vitriol his loved ones have recently received on social media.
“I want to start off by saying something,” Yesavage said. “Living in this world where there’s so many different opinions and feelings, which results in a lot of hate, it’s sad to see that people close to me are being attacked for my performances on the field. These people have done nothing to warrant negativity for my actions, whether that’s my parents, my brothers, my girlfriend, family. It’s just really sad.”
Yesavage declined to elaborate on the situation. It’s the second time that a rookie starting pitcher has denounced social media attacks this postseason; Yankees right-hander Cam Schlittler said Red Sox fans “crossed the line” by attacking his family before his start against Boston in Game 3 of the wild-card series.
“I know I have the platform to address it, so I am,” Yesavage said. “I hope that people can realize that those individuals have nothing to do with what happens on the field or whatnot. If you have a problem, I’m a man; I can take whatever opinions anybody has about me or my life. So, I just wanted to get that out there.”
Game 2 will be Yesavage’s fifth career major league outing. His fourth was a historic performance against the Yankees in Game 2 of the AL Division Series, when he tossed 5⅓ no-hit innings with 11 strikeouts.
Mariners manager Dan Wilson said his team has not decided on a Game 2 starter, though Logan Gilbert is the likely choice. Seattle used Gilbert and fellow starter Luis Castillo in their 15-inning Game 5 win over the Tigers on Friday night. Gilbert threw 34 pitches over two innings after allowing a run in six innings in Game 3 on Tuesday.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports2 years agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports3 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Sports3 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment1 year agoHere are the best electric bikes you can buy at every price level in October 2024