Texas Rangers lineup for ALCS Game 1

Texas Rangers lineup for American League Championship Series Game 1 against the Houston Astros: starting pitchers are Jordan Montgomery for the Rangers and Justin Verlander for the Astros.

The Texas Rangers used the same lineup for the final two games of the ALDS against the Baltimore Orioles, and scored 18 runs in those two games combined. Bruce Bochy appears to have decided that there’s no reason to change what worked the last couple of times out. That means Mitch Garver in the #3 spot against the righty Verlander, with switch-hitting Robbie Grossman on the bench.

Verlander, it should be noted, was excellent against lefthanded hitters this season, allowing just a .214/.264/.320 slash line against them in 303 plate appearances. Righthanded hitters, however, slashed .237/.298/.410 in 366 plate appearances. Righties also had 13 homers off of Verlander, compared to just 5 homers by lefties. Something to keep in mind...

The lineup:

Semien — 2B

Seager — SS

Garver — DH

Garcia — RF

Carter — LF

Heim — C

Lowe — 1B

Jung — 3B

Taveras — CF

7:15 p.m. Central start time. Astros are -140 favorites. The Fangraphs Playoff Odds currently give the Astros a 59% chance of winning the series, compared to 41% for the Rangers.