ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — So much for all of that talk about the Texas Rangers having a hard time shaking off the past week of disappointment.
Texas not only came out strong against the Tampa Bay Rays, but was the better team on offense, defense and the mound on Tuesday, striking first in their best-of-three matchup with the host Rays thanks to a 4-0 victory.
Sure, Jordan Montgomery was the star of the show, looking like a master of the craft on the mound. But there were other things going on as well that caught our attention.
Texas Rangers quote to know: Nathaniel Lowe
Lowe set the tone for how Texas was approaching Game 1 in the pregame media scrum, quipping, "I don't know, we kind of accepted that we're the Rangers and we've kind of got to do it the hard way. If we've got to win from the Wild Card division all the way to the World Series, that's what we signed up for."
If the Texas way is the hard way, well, so far so good for the AL West runners-up. Certainly, Texas doesn't have to look far for an example of a team that surprised in the Wild Card round and kept going (we're looking at you, 2022 Philadelphia Phillies), but these Rangers didn't just sneak into the postseason. Texas did win 90 regular-season games and had the AL West in their grasp until a meltdown in Seattle over the final weekend.
On Tuesday, with their words and play, Texas made it abundantly clear they aren't worried about starting their first postseason journey since 2016 inside Tropicana Field.
Tampa Bay Rays quote to know: Kevin Cash
The Rays committed four errors on Tuesday, opening the door for Texas to take advantage of the mistakes while bringing a collective groan from the small crowd that matched historically low numbers. In their previous 62 postseason games, the Rays had only made three errors once before (October 14, 2008 at Boston's Fenway Park). Only 22 times previously had the Rays ever made four errors in a single game, but Tuesday was the moment when some of the Rays' young stars showed their inexperience.
"I don't think we were trying to do too much. But tight, there were probably some young guys out there that it was a little tense. But we'll be better for it tomorrow," Cash said.
Among the biggest victims of a misplay on Tuesday was center fielder Jose Siri, who bobbled a ball on the bounce in the outfield, then hurried a throw into third base that sailed into the dugout, plating a Texas run.
Four different players committed errors for Tampa on Thursday, so Siri certainly wasn't the only one. However, his might have been the most egregious ... and it didn't help that he also went 0-for-3 at the plate.
Texas Rangers quote to know: Marcus Semien
"Getting Game 1 is huge," Semien said after the win. "I think we had a lot more opportunities that we left on the table too, so hopefully tomorrow we come out and take advantage of the runners we left on base."
Texas was just 2-for-13 with runners in scoring position on Tuesday, and that includes a pop-up by Semien with runners at second and third in the fourth inning after third base coach Tony Beasley made an interesting choice to hold Jonah Heim at third base rather than sending him home with two outs. The Rangers also left 13 men on base on Tuesday.
However, Texas took advantage of their opportunities when needed, at least enough to scratch out the win. But Semien, who was 0-for-4 from the leadoff spot, is right ... this game could have gotten ugly quickly if Texas had been able to come through at the plate in a few more situations. That's something that Tampa Bay is likely both thankful for after Game 1 and thinking about heading into Game 2 on Wednesday afternoon.