Inside The Rangers

If Defense Wins Titles, Texas Rangers' Postseason Hopes Remain High

The Texas Rangers led the American League with only 57 errors in 2023 and defense came up big in Game 1 Wild Card win over the Tamp Bay Rays.

Stefan Stevenson

If Defense Wins Titles, Texas Rangers' Postseason Hopes Remain High
If Defense Wins Titles, Texas Rangers' Postseason Hopes Remain High /
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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Through all of the highs and lows the Texas Rangers endured during the regular season — from their early, record-setting run-scoring pace, to their catastrophic pitching injuries, to a gut-wrenching 16 losses in 20-game stretch to their ongoing wing and a prayer bullpen situation — one thing has remained constant: Their defense.

The Rangers, who finished tied with the Arizona Diamondbacks with a league-best .990 fielding percentage, leaned heavily on their defense throughout their 4-0 Game 1 Wild Card win Tuesday against the Tampa Bay Rays.

In fact, the Rangers' sterling defensive effort stood in stark contrast to one at times was a slapstick display of shoddy fielding by the Rays, which were officially charged with four errors but could have easily been tagged with a few more by a stingier scorekeeper. Texas can advance to the ALDS with a Game 2 win at 2:08 p.m. Wednesday.

The Rangers defense showed up early and often, including rookie Evan Carter's diving catch to his right on a sinking fly ball in left field to end the first inning.

In the next inning, with runners on the corners and one out, pitcher Jordan Montgomery topped Carter's gem by sprinting off the mound to lay out for a popped-up bunt attempt by Jose Siri near home plate on the first-base line.

"That was electric. I was fired up. I was yelling at Leody," Carter said. "I thought maybe Nate was going to make a dive for it, but it turned out to be [Montgomery], and that was awesome."

First baseman Nathaniel Lowe was charging towards the pop up, too. He looked amazed at Montgomery's acrobatics.

"It shows his heart and how much he cares," said Lowe, who made several stellar stops, including a backhanded stop on a sharp grounder, and a stretched-out catch while keeping his toe on the bag on a throw from third baseman Josh Jung.

"Props to him, athlete points to him, but I like him striking people out rather than making that play."

Indeed, Montgomery landed hard on his shoulder and hips, dirtied up his jersey, and had a little bit of scrapes on his throwing hand in the service of the highlight play. His jersey was so smeared with dirt that he changed into a new one between innings.

"It was an incredible catch, and especially for somebody who's 6-6, a big guy, moving really well to get over there. It was awesome," Carter said.

Montgomery joked that he "was just as shocked as everybody in the stands" when he made the catch.

"It just was something I've never done before. I don't know if I've done that since I was 12," he said. "Just kind of a heat-of-the-moment competitive thing. I saw the ball and went and got it."

Manager Bruce Bochy and Rangers trainers checked on Montgomery after the play. He was fine. He held the Rays scoreless over seven innings.

Marcus Semien and Corey Seager called Montgomery's play a momentum-changing moment.

"Unbelievable play," Semien said.

"That was pretty awesome," Seager said. "That was actually a really big moment in the game, too, and for him to put it all on the line."

The Rangers made an AL-low 57 errors during the regular season. Only the Diamondbacks, with 56, had fewer. Their 57 errors are 26 fewer than the franchise's previous full-season record-low for errors, 83 in 2021.

"Defense is going to win you most ballgames. Every team in this league can hit, especially now," said Jung, who snared a line drive to his left for the first out in the seventh. "Taking hits away and turning those into outs, basically trying to shrink the game for the other team. Can we make some big plays and get our pitcher off the mound because the longer he’s out there the more chances they have to do damage."

"They're incredible," Montgomery said of his defense. "Made a lot of good plays, hard plays, and made it look easy. Jungle Cat at third, that ball kind of floating and he got it, pulled it out of the air. Just up and down the lineup, everybody out there played great."

Meanwhile, the Rays, who were tied with the ninth-best fielding percentage in the majors, made three errors in the first three innings, allowed a run on a wild pitch, and misplayed several balls, even if they didn't go down as errors.

"You have to make outs outs, especially in the playoffs, you can’t give outs away," Lowe said. "You saw when outs were given away, more runs scored, so we need to make sure we handle the ball and take one out at a time. I've had to learn over the last week not to make too much out of one play. One play at a time and just keep going."

Semien said the sturdy defense starts way back in Spring Training, and is a daily routine.

"We all work extremely hard on our craft. I think as the year goes on, you definitely get used to your routines and how you want to prepare," he said. "Once you get into these games, you trust your work and guys made plays when we needed them today."

You can follow Stefan Stevenson on Twitter @StefanVersusTex.

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Stefan Stevenson
STEFAN STEVENSON

Stefan Stevenson worked as a journalist and editor at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram for 25 years, covering sports, concerts, and general news. His beats have included the Dallas Cowboys, the Texas Rangers, and Texas Christian University football.

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