5 Rangers Who Will Carry Texas to World Series Win
By Tyler Maher
4. Jordan Montgomery
As great as Eovaldi was, Montgomery was even better, at least in the ALCS.
Montgomery was also dominant in the Wild Card Round, blanking the Rays over 7 stellar innings. He struggled during the ALDS, however, getting tuned up by the Orioles for 5 runs on 9 hits in 4 innings.
Which version of Montgomery was going to show up in the ALCS? Fortunately, it was the ace one.
The veteran lefty got the ball in Game 1 and didn't disappoint, setting the tone with 6 1/3 scoreless frames. He was nearly as good in Game 5, too, limiting Houston to 2 runs over 5 1/3 innings.
And when everything was on the line in Game 7, Montgomery was available. He came out of the bullpen to relieve an ailing Max Scherzer and contributed 2 1/3 scoreless frames, buying time for the bats to build up an even bigger lead and put the game out of reach.
That's the kind of pitcher you want on the mound in the World Series -- a bulldog who will do anything to help your team win.