Jordan Montgomery leads Rangers past Astros in ALCS opener - ESPN

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 gotten 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