The American League will take place over Texas. After a grueling regular season and a stressful postseason, the two remaining AL teams – the Houston Astros and the Texas Rangers – are both from the Lone Star State.
They reached this point in the season in very different ways. The Rangers regained prominence this year after flexing their financial muscles. Marcus Semien and Corey Seager were signed to mega-deals before the 2022 season, but that didn’t stop the team from acquiring Max Scherzer and his big 2024 salary at the trade deadline.
The Astros are also spending money, but the team has largely been a consistent contender thanks to its homegrown core. Alex Bregman, Jose Altuve, Kyle Tucker and Yordan Alvarez are proving to be outstanding again this postseason.
On Sunday, both Jordan Montgomery and Justin Verlander got off to great starts for their teams, but thanks to stellar defense from young superstar Evan Carter, it was the Rangers who emerged victorious in a low-scoring affair.
Find ALCS Game 1 news, results and highlights below.
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JAnd that’s the game. After a wild eighth inning, Rangers closer Jose Leclerc hit a 1-2-3 drive in the ninth inning to secure a 2-0 win and give Texas a 1-0 lead in the ALCS. Jordan Montgomery gets the win after an outstanding 6 1/3 innings on the mound.
After a walk by Jose Altuve, Evan Carter makes a ridiculous catch of a fly ball from Alex Bregman in the far corner of left field and then throws it into the infield for a double play against Altuve.
The Rangers lost 1:2:3 at the start of the eighth quarter. Still 2-0 Texas.
Jordan Montgomery exited after 6 1/3 innings: 5 hits, 6 strikeouts, 1 walk, zero runs allowed.
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Neris pops out Marcus Semien and the inning is over. Rangers, 2-0 in game seven.
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Justin Verlander is done after 6 2/3 innings. A single by Leody Taveras that put runners on first and second with two outs ended his day. A strong performance from Verlander, but he goes in line to take the loss.
Final result: 6 2/3 innings pitched, 6 hits, 2 walks, 5 strikeouts and 2 earned runs. The Rangers lead 2-0. Hector Neris takes the mound.
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Montgomery countered with a 1-2-3 inning of his own. Pitching a shutout to six. 2-0, Rangers.
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