Jordan Montgomery’s line says 2 2/3 innings, three strikeouts, no walks and no earned runs. It does not say the fifth inning was tidy. It was anything but.
The Texas Rangers were already trailing the Minnesota Twins 4-1 when Montgomery entered with the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the fifth Sunday at Target Field. Kody Clemens immediately singled to center, scoring Luke Keaschall and moving Josh Bell and Ryan Jeffers up a base. That run was charged to Jakob Junis, who had created the jam, not Montgomery.
The Rangers eventually lost 6-4, completing an 80-82 season and missing the postseason.
Montgomery inherited three runners and allowed one to score. He then stranded the three runners still on base. Royce Lewis struck out, and Brooks Lee then flew out to center. Minnesota had turned a 3-1 game into a 5-1 lead, but the damage stopped there.
The first single keeps this from being an immaculate rescue. Texas needed outs immediately, and Minnesota instead added a run before Montgomery recorded one. But with the bases still full, he had plenty of opportunity to make a bad inning worse. Getting Lewis and Lee meant the Rangers could spend the remaining innings chasing four runs instead of an even larger deficit.
Montgomery handled the sixth with considerably less drama. Austin Martin struck out, Walker Jenkins grounded out, and Keaschall also grounded out. Three batters, three outs. In the seventh, Kaelen Culpepper flew out and Bell struck out before Jeffers singled to left. Clemens followed with a flyout to center, ending the inning.
Across 2 2/3 innings, Montgomery faced 10 batters, threw 38 pitches and recorded three strikeouts without issuing a walk. Alongside the strikeouts came two groundouts and three flyouts. After the fifth-inning escape, only Jeffers reached against him. Texas used seven pitchers, but Montgomery supplied its longest outing. He gave Texas a bridge from a damaged fifth to the late innings without adding to the deficit.
The Rangers had time, then. They mostly spent it watching Dean Kremer work.
Kremer completed seven innings on 74 pitches, allowing three hits, one earned run and no walks while striking out four. Texas did put a runner on in the sixth when Nicky Lopez singled, but Evan Carter’s sacrifice bunt moved Lopez to second, Brandon Nimmo’s groundout moved him to third and Wyatt Langford grounded out. The sequence produced a scoring position opportunity and no run.
Kremer then retired Corey Seager, Jake Burger and Ezequiel Duran in order in the seventh.
