Ace of clubs: Jordan Montgomery shuts down Astros as Rangers take ALCS opener

HOUSTON — Deep in the heart of Texas, it was emerging ace Jordan Montgomery who outdueled October veteran Justin Verlander. Just like we all predicted two months ago. 

Entering the American League Championship Series, postseason starters were mostly at a loss with how to pitch Astros left-handed slugger Yordan Álvarez. Right-handers definitely haven't gotten him out consistently, and neither have the southpaws. 

Finally, Montgomery had an answer: his apparently unhittable curveball. 

Montgomery whiffed Álvarez in all three of their meetings Sunday, with that nasty curveball serving as the putaway pitch every single time. Dismantling Houston's biggest slugging threat, as well as retiring the surging José Abreu with a pair of strikeouts, highlighted Montgomery's 6.1 shutout innings in the Rangers' 2-0 win in Game 1 at Minute Maid Park. 

"He's a really good power hitter, really good hitter in general, against lefties and righties," Montgomery said of Álvarez. "So, I really just tried to mix it up and do a little bit of everything."

That's Montgomery wholly underplaying his ability to "mix it up and do a little bit of everything." It's a catcher's dream when his starting pitcher can actually execute their intended game plan of pitching inside to Álvarez the way that Montgomery did. 

Throughout the night, the Rangers hurler threw six sinkers in on the 6-foot-5 Cuban slugger, completely locking him up. If even one of those sinkers leaked over the plate, Álvarez likely wouldn't miss it. Consider it a smart game plan by Texas pitching coach Mike Maddux, and even better execution by the Montgomery-Jonah Heim battery.

Perhaps the tide has turned. The soft-spoken left-hander is the least heralded of the elite pitchers in this series (Verlander, Max Scherzer, Nathan Eovaldi and Framber Valdez). But, at least since August, no one has been better among them than Montgomery.

"The game plan was to throw his pitches inside so [Álvarez] couldn't get extended," said Heim, who put Texas on the board in the second inning with an RBI single. "He's got tremendous power. When he gets extended, it's not good for us. He made some great pitches and threw that two-strike curveball and got the results."

"Yordan had a tough night," Astros skipper Dusty Baker conceded.

Montgomery on Sunday became the first pitcher in Rangers history with multiple scoreless postseason starts of six-plus innings. He opened Texas' still-unbeaten playoff run (6-0) with seven shutout frames against the Rays in the wild-card round. The 30-year-old veteran, of course, spent the first four months of this season with the Cardinals before being dealt to Texas at the deadline. That was the second time he'd been traded within 12 months, the lefty's departure from the Yankees last summer preventing him from a potential appearance versus the Astros in the 2022 ALCS. 

Unless the Rangers manage an unlikely — but not impossible — ALCS sweep, the Astros will likely see Montgomery again Friday in Game 5 at Globe Life Field.

"That outing reminded me of the one in Tampa, where he's just mixing everything — throwing strikes, using the curveball, keeping them off balance," second baseman Marcus Semien said of Montgomery. "That guy can really pitch."

Houston's best opportunity to fight back in Game 1 came soon after Montgomery walked off the mound. In the eighth inning, José Altuve worked a leadoff walk against reliever Josh Sborz, as Rangers skipper Bruce Bochy shrewdly passed on allowing the All-Star second baseman to face playoff nemesis Aroldis Chapman. Bochy instead opted to plug in the flame-throwing lefty against Alex Bregman, only the star third baseman promptly crushed a fly ball to one of the deepest parts of Minute Maid in left-center field. 

Talented rookie Evan Carter silenced the 42,872 in attendance with a tremendous leaping catch against the wall — and then life was completely sucked out of the Astros' dugout. Altuve, who crossed second base right as Carter made the catch but didn't tag it on his way back to first, was called out following a review.

Rangers closer José Leclerc locked down the ninth, as the Astros' inability to hit at home during the regular season leaked into another postseason series. They've scored eight runs across three games at home this postseason, compared to 12 runs in two games on the road. In the regular season, the Astros logged 365 runs and 92 home runs at Minute Maid Park, compared to 462 runs and 130 homers on the road. 

Despite the year-long disparity, the defending champions have not offered insight into what's ailing their offense at home.

"Sometimes you've got to say, hey, [Montgomery] threw a great game tonight against us, excellent game," Baker said. "And they say good pitching beats good hitting, but when you don't hit, everybody wants to know what's wrong. There's not a whole bunch to say. He threw a real good game against us." 

The Astros wasted a relatively strong outing from their 40-year-old ace and fellow trade-deadline acquisition. Verlander slept in as late as possible Sunday, hours before his ALCS Game 1 start against the rival Rangers. Then he spent time with his daughter before shifting to his usual start-day routine. He devoured a chicken Caesar salad, followed by a cheeseburger, then retrieved his pregame Starbucks order before heading to the ballpark for his 36th career postseason start. 

These are fewer start-day quirks than Verlander previously deployed over the years. At one point, he used to leave his dirty plate out and nobody was allowed to clean it up or throw it away. 

Just like Verlander's pregame routine has been tweaked over the years, so has his performance on the mound. 

With more than a week between starts, it was evident Verlander wasn't his sharpest at the onset against the Rangers. They made contact early and often, even if that meant their at-bats were littered with foul balls and popups. Their intent was clear: try to make Verlander work, so they could get him off the mound. Verlander didn't generate his first swing and miss until the fourth, when Nathaniel Lowe couldn't resist chasing a low slider. But that represented half the swings and misses the three-time Cy Young winner drew through his first five innings and 71 pitches.

"I thought they had a good game plan," Verlander said. "I didn't necessarily feel like they were attacking me in any particular fashion. A couple of balls found some holes. A couple were hit hard."

Verlander's biggest mistake came on a slider in the heart of the zone that Rangers No. 9 hitter Leody Taveras parked in the right-field seats for a solo home run in the fifth inning, which gave Texas its 2-0 lead. Right off the bat, Verlander knew Taveras' fly ball was gone. The problem, Verlander said, is that Texas' lineup is so deep that he can't focus on dominating just a pocket of hitters. He needed his best stuff for each of one-through-nine because "every one of their guys has the opportunity to beat you." 

One mistake, like the hanging slider, and the Rangers knew how to make him pay. 

"They've owned this division for a while now," Rangers reliever Will Smith said of the Astros. "So, yeah, we obviously want to come in and not be the little brother anymore."

The Rangers looked more like the bullying older brother Sunday. With the win, they took home-field advantage in the Lone Star State rivalry. Moreover, Texas enters Monday's Game 2 (FOX, 4:47 p.m. ET) confident about the pitching matchup. Houston is sending Valdez to the mound. The All-Star lefty not only scuffled in his previous start, against the Twins, but he has allowed 12 runs (eight earned) in 16.2 innings versus the Rangers this year. Eovaldi, meanwhile, has pitched better this postseason than he had in months. 

The Rangers, collectively, are playing their best ball of the year. Three more wins, and they're the best team in the American League. 

Deesha Thosar is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.