Jordan Montgomery scattered six hits over seven innings, helping the Texas Rangers beat the sloppy Tampa Bay Rays 4-0 Tuesday in their AL Wild Card Series opener.
Corey Seager and Josh Jung drove in runs and the Rangers benefitted from four errors by the Rays, who also fizzled offensively before a crowd of just 19,704 — roughly 5,300 below listed capacity — at Tropicana Field.
Texas moved within a victory of a AL Division Series matchup against Baltimore.
Tampa Bay, wearing throwback Devil Rays jerseys in the style of 1998-2000, lost its sixth straight postseason game since winning its 2021 Division Series opener against Boston.
Montgomery (1-0), a 30-year-old left-hander acquired from St. Louis at the trade deadline, struck out five and walked none.
Aroldis Chapman pitched a perfect eighth and José Leclerc worked around a walk in the ninth to finish a six-hitter.
Tampa Bay right-hander Tyler Glasnow (0-1) was charged with four runs, three earned, and six hits in five-plus innings. He struck out eight and walked five.
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