*Photo from Spectrum News*
Texas leads series 1-0
One moment can be all you need in the playoffs. Evan Carter drove in a run, Josh Jung homered, and the Texas Rangers defeated the Baltimore Orioles with a 3-2 victory on Saturday afternoon in Baltimore.
Looking to carry the momentum from a wild card round sweep, the Rangers won a tight battle with the Orioles to extend their playoff win streak to 3 games. It was once again the kids who got it done, with Carter and Jung providing the big hits in this series opener.
Rangers second baseman Marcus Semien said of Carter and Jung that "I think they go about it two different ways. Josh Jung came up last year and struggled a little bit. A lot more swing and miss. And he showed up at Spring Training very hungry. His work ethic is top notch. I think I'm still learning about Evan. What I've learned about him is that he's very calm in the big moments, and that's very rare."
After the first 3 innings were scoreless, it was the Rangers who got on the board first. Carter broke the ice, hitting a double off the right field wall that scored Adolis Garcia to make it 1-0 Rangers. Jonah Heim then added an RBI single, bringing home Carter from second, doubling the Rangers lead to 2-0 after 4 innings.
Ryan Mountcastle answered quickly for the Orioles. In the bottom of the 4th, he hit an RBI double, scoring Anthony Santander to cut the Baltimore deficit to 2-1. In the 6th, Jung hit a solo home run to center field, proving to be the game winner as the score became 3-1. Santander hit a solo shot of his own in the bottom of the 6th to make it a 3-2 game.
Jung said after the game "So far, so good. It’s baseball, though. I struggled pretty hard the last week and a half. Games like today, when the team comes out with the big victory, you can't help but just stay confident."
Andrew Heaney lasted 3 2/3 innings for the Rangers, allowing one run. Dane Dunning allowed one run in two innings pitched, getting the win. Will Smith, Josh Sborz, Aroldis Chapman, and Jose Leclerc pitched scoreless baseball in relief to lock down the win for the Rangers.
Kyle Bradish allowed two runs in 4 2/3 innings for the Orioles. Danny Coulombe pitched 2/3 of an inning before Jacob Webb allowed a run while getting one out. DL Hall, Tyler Wells, and Cionel Perez combined for 3 1/3 shutout innings after Webb departed.
Orioles outfielder Austin Hays said of the series opening loss that "It’s something we’ve done all year. We’ve had plenty of series where we lost the first game, first two games, and we answered the bell the next day. So nothing new here."
Game two of the series is on Sunday afternoon in Baltimore. Jordan Montgomery starts for the Rangers as they try to take a 2-0 series lead, while the Orioles try to tie the series and force at least a game 4 with Grayson Rodriguez getting the start.
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