Rangers rally behind Jordan Montgomery's brilliant start to win ALCS Game 1 over Astros

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The Texas Rangers shut down the Houston Astros to take Game 1 on the road, 2-0, at Minute Maid Park on Sunday night. 

Jordan Montgomery was traded by the New York Yankees to the St. Louis Cardinals last season because the front office didn’t believe he would crack their postseason rotation. 

Fast-forward to Sunday night and Montgomery, who continues to be a solid trade acquisition by the Rangers after being dealt by the Cardinals at the deadline, stymied a tough Astros offense. 

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Leody Taveras (right) of the Texas Rangers celebrates his solo home run against the Houston Astros during Game One of the American League Championship Series at Minute Maid Park in Houston. (Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)

Montgomery threw 6.1 innings, allowing no runs and five hits while collecting six strikeouts and one walk. His postseason ERA moved to 2.08 as he set the tone in this ALCS for the road team. 

Because of Montgomery’s performance, the Rangers didn’t need much offense to get the job done. First, it was catcher Jonah Heim singling home Evan Carter to get on the board first in this series. 

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Then, center fielder Leody Taveras, the No. 9 hitter in the Rangers’ lineup, went deep off Astros starter Justin Verlander in the top of the fifth. It was a hanging slider by Verlander that caught too much of the plate, and Taveras took a big swing and connected on the sweet spot, launching it over the right center field fence.

Verlander went 6.2 innings for the ‘Stros, giving up the two earned runs on six hits and two walks while