After hanging on for a tight, one-run win in Game 1, the road warrior Texas Rangers look to shock the top-seeded Baltimore Orioles again on Sunday in Game 2. Andrew Heaney and Dane Dunning combined for 5.2 innings of one-run ball on Saturday, with Evan Carter and Josh Jung pacing the offense in a 3-2 victory to steal home-field advantage. Now the Rangers have their best (healthy) starter on the mound looking for a commanding 2-0 series lead as they head back home to Arlington.
Lefty Jordan Montgomery (10-11, 3.20 ERA) will look to build on his sensational Wild Card start for Texas, while the O’s turn to rookie Grayson Rodriguez (7-4, 4.35) to help them avoid a 2-0 series deficit. Baltimore enters as -120 favorites on the moneyline at DraftKings Sportsbook, with the Rangers at +100. The run total is set at 8.
The Orioles have released their lineup for today’s game, so let’s take a look at how they’ll line up against Montgomery.
Orioles starting lineup, ALDS Game 1, October 8
The Orioles’ Game 2 lineup against left-hander Jordan Montgomery, with Adley Rutschman batting leadoff, Gunnar Henderson in the cleanup spot and Jorge Mateo at shortstop: pic.twitter.com/fRzzguQxpA
— Nathan Ruiz (@NathanSRuiz) October 8, 2023
Despite facing another lefty today, the O’s are switching things up a bit. For starters, Jorge Mateo is back in the lineup, playing short to allow Gunnar Henderson to shift back to third and kick Ramon Urias to the bench. Adley Rutschman is the new leadoff man, with lefty-masher Ryan Mountcastle up to the two hole, Henderson hitting cleanup and Austin Hays dropping down to fifth.
