Good morning, Athletics Nation!
The semifinals of the MLB playoffs kicked off last night with a spicy ALCS matchup between the Texas Rangers and the Houston Astros. Though the Astros entered the series as the betting favorites — on top of being the reigning World Series and AL West champions — it was the Rangers who took Game 1. Surprisingly, it was on the back of Jordan Montgomery who outpitched future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander.
Though Houston’s ace mostly pitched well, he had a rocky 2nd inning that he was fortunate to get out of allowing just one run.