Texas’ bullpen holds up vs. Orioles
BALTIMORE – Andrew Heaney and Dane Dunning helped Texas reach the sixth inning with a lead, and the Rangers’ maligned bullpen held on through some anxious moments for a 3-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles in Game 1 of their AL Division Series on Saturday.
Josh Jung homered and made a nice play at third base to start a critical double play for Texas, which improved to 3-0 in these playoffs – all on the road.
After squandering a chance to win the AL West on the final day of the regular season, the wild-card Rangers entered the postseason without Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer and with a bullpen largely considered a weak link, but they’ve allowed only three runs in three games against the Orioles and Tampa Bay Rays.
Heaney held Baltimore to a run and two hits in 3 2/3 innings. Dunning relieved him and went two innings for the win, allowing a run in the sixth. Will Smith, Josh Sborz, Aroldis Chapman and José Leclerc combined for the final 10 outs – but not without some drama.
Sborz threw seven straight balls to start the seventh but pitched around a leadoff walk. Chapman walked the first two batters in the eighth before Jung ranged to his left and snagged Anthony Santander’s high bouncer on a short hop to start a 5-4-3 double play. Chapman then struck out Ryan Mountcastle with a runner on third to end the inning.
Leclerc earned the save, although he allowed a leadoff single in the ninth to
Gunnar Henderson. All-Star catcher Jonah Heim threw out Henderson trying to steal second, and the Orioles didn’t manage another baserunner.
Kyle Bradish struck out nine in 4 2/3 innings for the Orioles but allowed two runs in the fourth to take the loss. Jung and Santander traded solo homers in the sixth.
Texas has been without deGrom for a while, and the Rangers left Scherzer off their ALDS roster Saturday because of shoulder problems that have kept him out since mid-September. So far, however, the Rangers’ pitching has held up.
Jordan Montgomery and Nathan Eovaldi kept the Rays at bay in the Wild Card Series, and then the Heaney-Dunning tandem gave the Rangers a chance to win again.
Astros 6, Twins 4
HOUSTON – Justin Verlander pitched six shutout innings, Yordan Alvarez homered twice and the Houston Astros held on for a win over the Minnesota Twins in their AL Division Series opener. Jose Altuve hit a leadoff home run and Alvarez had three RBIs as the defending World Series champions earned their 10th straight victory in Game 1 of a Division Series.
Verlander settled in after a shaky start and the Astros built a 5-0 lead through six innings with big swings from Altuve and Alvarez.
Héctor Neris took over for Verlander to start the seventh. With two outs, Jorge Polanco hit a soaring three-run homer to right field. Two pitches later, rookie Royce Lewis launched his third homer in three playoff games to make it 5-4. In the bottom half, Caleb Thielbar entered to face Alvarez with one out. The slugger became the first left-handed hitter to homer off Thielbar this season when he smacked an off-speed pitch off the foul pole in right to give Houston some insurance.
Bryan Abreu got four outs, striking out three, and Ryan Pressly fanned two in a scoreless ninth for the save. He struck out Lewis to end it.
The best-of-five series continues Sunday night in Houston.
Altuve pounced on Bailey Ober’s first pitch for his first career leadoff homer in the playoffs. Alvarez connected off Ober on a two-run shot in the third to make it 3-0.
The 40-year-old Verlander allowed four hits and walked three to get his 17th win in 35 postseason starts.