At the start of October, the Texas Rangers’ rotation was a huge question mark. Jacob deGrom was out for the year due to injury, with Max Scherzer and Jon Gray seeming likely to joining him after landing on the IL in September. Nathan Eovaldi had tried to rush back from an injury of his own, only to get lit up for 21 runs over his final 20.1 innings. Suddenly, Texas’ playoff plan was looking like it would feature a downright uncomfortable amount of Andrew Heaney and Dane Dunning.
What a difference a few weeks makes. Montgomery has been quite possibly the best pitcher in the postseason. Eovaldi (and his fastball velocity) look reborn. Even Scherzer made a dramatic return in the ALCS, although he was clearly shaking off the rust of a month-plus layoff. Texas has posted a 3.62 starters’ ERA this month, third-best of team in these playoffs — and more than good enough, considering how dangerous their lineup is. Will they be able to keep things rolling as they get set to host the Arizona Diamondbacks in Game 1 of the World Series on Friday night? Here’s how Bruce Bochy projects to line up his rotation.
Rangers starting pitchers
Game 1: Nathan Eovaldi (12-5, 3.63 regular-season ERA)
Game 2: Jordan Montgomery (10-11, 3.20)
Game 3: Max Scherzer (13-6, 3.77)
Game 4: Andrew Heaney (10-6, 4.15)/Dane Dunning (12-7, 3.70)
Bochy has already announced Eovaldi as his starter in Game 1, no surprise after Montgomery was called upon in relief to help Texas survive Game 7 against the Astros. Eovaldi was miserable for all of September, but he’s back looking like the Cy Young candidate he was in the first half now, firing four straight quality starts (and recording four straight wins) to help carry the Rangers to the Fall Classic.
Amazingly, though, Eovaldi might not even be the best pitcher on his own team right now. Montgomery did yeoman’s work for Texas down the stretch after the team acquired him at the trade deadline, and the lefty has kept right on chugging in October, with a 3-0 record and a 2.16 ERA over five appearances (four starts). The Rangers almost certainly wouldn’t be here without him: He blanked Houston over 6.1 innings in Game 1 of the ALCS, would have lead Texas to a Game 5 win were it not for Jose Altuve’s ninth-inning heroics and then came back and fired 2.1 crucial innings in relief of Scherzer in Game 7. Bochy hasn’t made anything official yet beyond Eovaldi, but it would be a shocker if Montgomery didn’t get the ball on normal rest in Game 2.
After that, well, we do still have some questions. Scherzer’s stuff really didn’t look all that bad despite lackluster results in his two starts against Houston; it was his command that was the problem, and that figures to get better the more he gets his legs under him — provided he’s not still pitching through shoulder discomfort after suffering a teres major strain on Sept. 12. If the righty can turn back the clock for Texas in this series, it could go a long way toward the franchise’s first title. If he pitches to a 9.45 ERA like he did in the ALCS, however, the Rangers could be in trouble.
As for Game 4: Bochy has piggybacked Heaney and Dunning (in that order) in the two games in which he needed a starter not named Montgomery, Eovaldi or Scherzer. It worked well enough in Game 1 of the ALDS against the Orioles, as the duo combined for 5.2 innings of two-run ball en route to a 3-2 win. It extremely did not work in Game 4 against the Astros, where Heaney allowed three runs on four hits while recording just two outs in an ugly 10-3 loss. With Jon Gray shifting to the bullpen as he returns from an injury, though, this still feels like Texas’ best option.
