HOUSTON – Not all heroes wear capes and not all monster slayers have Herculean muscles with a God-like power swing.
Texas Rangers outfielder Leody Taveras isn't a world-class hitter. He slashed .266/.312/.421 during the regular season and was the only member of the club with at least 130 appearances to finish with fewer than 15 home runs and 70 RBI.
But on Sunday at Minute Maid Park, it was the last man in the lineup to deliver the first long ball against Houston Astros ace Justin Verlander in this postseason as Texas secured the 2-0 victory in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series.
"That was something special for me," Taveras said.
Taveras finished 2-for-2 at the plate and drew a walk off Verlander (1-1, 1.42 ERA in postseason) in the first inning. Verlander, who notched his 36 career postseason start, worked his way out of the jam with a pop out by Marcus Semien.
The next time around, the 40-year-old wasn't so lucky. Taveras fouled off a pair of 94-mph fastballs at the top of the fifth to put him behind the count 0-2. Verlander tried to put him away with a slider low, but Taveras stayed alive.
Verlander went back to the off-speed, sending a slider right down the middle. Taveras went back to the power swing, sending the solo shot 398 feet over the right-field wall to give left-hander Jordan Montgomery an added cushion.
"I kind of started finding my groove there the last few innings," Verlander said. "Obviously one bad pitch, it resulted in another run to Taveras there."
Entering Sunday, Taveras had put up pedestrian playoff numbers, slashing .263/.364/.316 with a .679 OPS, but one swing can change everything.
But even with two big swings and a quality performance on the mound from Montgomery, the Rangers still needed to overcome Verlander. Taveras didn't need much to get Verlander off his game.
Just a slider and shot into the seats.
"That was the only mistake – he was good," Astros manager Dusty Baker said Verlander. "He was very good. And he had thrown good sliders all night, and that was the only mistake that he made, and he didn't miss it."
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