Texas Rangers take Game 1 from Houston Astros behind Montgomery’s strong outing

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HOUSTON, TEXAS - OCTOBER 15: Leody Taveras #3 of the Texas Rangers hits a solo home run in the fifth inning against the Houston Astros during Game One of the American League Championship Series at Minute Maid Park on October 15, 2023 in Houston, Texa

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HOUSTON - The Texas Rangers are still undefeated in the playoffs.

The Rangers beat the Houston Astros in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series 2-0.

HOUSTON, TEXAS - OCTOBER 15: Jordan Montgomery #52 of the Texas Rangers pitches in the sixth inning against the Houston Astros during Game One of the American League Championship Series at Minute Maid Park on October 15, 2023 in Houston, Texas. (Phot

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Texas starter Jordan Montgomery continued his brilliance this postseason with 6.1 scoreless innings on Sunday night.

"We just found a way to get a couple of runs across the board," Texas manager Bruce Bochy said. "That was the difference in the game, obviously. But our guy was really good, Monty, terrific job he did. And he got in a couple of jams there and found a way to get out of it."

The defending champion Astros, in the ALCS for a seventh straight year, had a tough time getting anything going against Montgomery. The top four batters in Houston’s lineup were 2 for 12 with five strikeouts against the left-hander. Slugger Yordan Alvarez struck out against him three times.

The Rangers started their scoring in the second inning when All-Star catcher Jonah Heim singled home rookie standout Evan Carter, whose hustle stretched a single into a double.

Montgomery was able to work himself out of jams with runners on base in the third inning by striking out Yordan Alvarez and the fourth inning by punching out Martin Maldonado.

Then in the top of the fifth Rangers CF Leody Tavares sent a Justin Verlander pitch deep into the right field seats.

It was Tavares' first postseason homerun of his career.

Relievers Josh Sborz, Aroldis Chapman and Jose LeClerc combined to complete the shutout.

Evan Carter made a leaping catch at the wall on a towering fly ball from Astros third baseman Alex Bregman in the 8th inning. Jose Altuve was also called out after he failed to re-touch second base on his way back to first.

Carter was asked about his ability to stay calm in his first playoff run.

"Oh, my gosh. This is so much fun," he said. "That’s just all I think about. Where else would I want to be. This is awesome. I’m just trying to keep my feet grounded and just keep rolling with this team . It’s been a lot of fun."

Jose Leclerc struck out one in a perfect ninth for the save and the Rangers’ second shutout of the playoff.

Texas’ bullpen has a 1.86 ERA in the playoffs after ranking 24th at 4.77 during the regular season.

Houston’s offensive woes came after it hit 16 homers and outscored the Rangers 39-10 in a three-game sweep in September. Things were much different in the first postseason meeting between these in-state rivals as they managed just five singles.

"Sometime you’ve got to say: ‘Hey, the guy threw a great game tonight against us, excellent game,’" manager Dusty Baker said. "And they say good pitching beats good hitting, but when you don’t hit, everybody wants to know what’s wrong. There’s not a whole bunch to say. He threw a real good game against us."

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Game 2 of the ALCS is Monday afternoon.

Nathan Eovaldi (2-0, 1.32) will take the mound for the Rangers.

Eovaldi grew up in suburban Houston and attended Alvin High School, which is also the alma mater of Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan.

"It’s awesome," Eovaldi said. "I’m going to have a lot of friends and family here for the game. Anytime we’re in this stage in this moment right here, being this close to the World Series, it’s a big deal. Doesn’t matter where we’re playing at, it’s a big honor for us to be here."

The Astros are expected to start LHP Framber Valdez (0-1, 10.38 ERA).

You can watch the game on FOX 4 at 3:37 p.m.

Our pregame coverage will start at 2:30 p.m. on FOX 4, the FOX 4 website and FOX LOCAL.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.