*Photo from the San Diego Union Tribune*
Texas leads series 1-0
Shut down and shut out was how this one went. Corey Seager drove in a run, Jordan Montgomery shined on the mound, and the Texas Rangers shut out the Tampa Bay Rays with a 4-0 victory on Tuesday in St. Petersburg.
Playing their first playoff game since 2016, the Rangers jumped out to an early lead and didn't let it go, taking advantage of Rays mistakes to jump out to the lead in the best of 3 series. They handed the Rays their 6th straight playoff loss, dating back to the 2021 ALDS against the Boston Red Sox.
Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said "It was a great job by the club. A well-played game, and it obviously starts with Monty. Another great effort he gave us on top of his game. He had a four-pitch mix, throwing strikes. Terrific job and good at-bats. Much better at-bats, longer at-bats that help extend some pitches there. It was a well-played game by us."
Josh Jung got the scoring started in the second inning for the Rangers. He gave them a 1-0 lead on a sac fly that scored Nathaniel Lowe. It stayed a 1-0 game until the 5th inning. There, Corey Seager scored on a wild pitch with the bases loaded to double the lead to 2-0. In the 6th inning, Seager singled to center field, scoring a run to make it 3-0. On the same play, a throwing error allowed another run to score, making it a 4-0 score.
Rangers outfielder Evan Carter said that "It's still a baseball game, same rules, all that. Glasnow is an incredible pitcher, and we knew that coming in. Just game plan the best that you can, prepare the best that you can. We did a good job of that today."
Montgomery toed the rubber for the Rangers and dominated the Rays, allowing 6 hits and striking out 5 hitters over 7 shutout innings. Aroldis Chapman pitched a scoreless 8th inning before Jose Leclerc sealed the win in the 9th.
Tyler Glasnow was the game one starter for the Rays. He was charged with 3 runs on 6 hits and 5 walks over 5 full innings, failing to record an out in the 6th. Chris Devenski pitched two shutout innings before Jake Diekman and Andrew Kittredge had a scoreless inning each.
Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash said that "We didn't play a good, clean baseball game by any stretch. We didn't hit, pitch or defend. When you're going up against a good team, they're going to capitalize, and they eventually really did. It was a frustrating game. I don't recall us playing a game like that in quite some time."
Game two of the series is on Wednesday afternoon in St. Petersburg. The Rangers look to advance to the ALDS as Nathan Eovaldi takes the mound. Zach Eflin starts for the Rays as they try to tie the series.
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