What a start for the Texas Rangers.
One day after Jordan Montgomery led a shutout of the Astros in Game 1 of the ALCS, the Rangers held on for a 5-4 win in a Game 2 thriller on Monday. The Rangers jumped to a 4-0 start in the first inning and got six innings of three-run ball from Nathan Eovaldi, who worked his way out of a fifth-inning, bases-loaded, no-out jam without allowing a run.
The Astros cut the deficit to 5-4 on a Yordan Álvarez home run in the eighth, his second of the day, but never tied it or took the lead. The series shifts to Arlington on Wednesday. The Rangers, who are now 7-0 in the postseason, will have three games at home while needing two wins to close out the series.
In the night cap, the Philadelphia Phillies took Game 1 of the NLCS over the Arizona Diamondbacks with a 5-3 victory. Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper kicked things off with home runs in the bottom of the first inning. Nick Castellanos joined them with a homer in the second to give the Phillies a 3-0 lead. Zack Wheeler was dominant in six innings of work, allowing just three hits and striking out eight batters.
A late Diamondbacks rally was too little, too late, and Arizona will now look to even the series in Game 2, which begins at 8:07 p.m. ET Tuesday at Citizens Bank Park, where the Phillies are 5-0 this postseason.
Read below for news, scores, updates and highlights from all the MLB action Monday.
