BALTIMORE — Admit it, Texas Rangers fans, you had a lump in your throat and you were biting your fingernails late during Game 1 of the ALDS Saturday afternoon.
You had good reason, too.
The Rangers' infamously shaky bullpen appeared destined to let the Baltimore Orioles rally for a late win but pulled out of a mess each time.
The Rangers won 3-2 and go for a 2-0 lead in the best-of-5 series at 3 p.m. Sunday at Camden Yards. Game 3 is scheduled for 7:07 p.m. Tuesday at Globe Life Field.
That much-maligned Rangers pen escaped jam after jam Sunday, including Aroldis Chapman in the eighth, and Jose Leclerc in the ninth.
Chapman walked the first two batters he faced but escaped thanks to the glove of Josh Jung at third base. Jung fielded a short-hop to start a 5-4-3 double play and Chapman struck out Ryan Mountcastle to strand the runner on third.
In the ninth, Gunnar Henderson led off with a single against Leclerc, but catcher Jonah Heim threw him out trying to steal second for the first out. That let Leclerc take a deep breath
"I don't know, I kind of blacked out," Heim said. "We know they like to run, and he gave me a good pitch to throw on, and the result was good."
The whole thing surprised Leclerc.
“I wasn't [expecting it],” Leclerc said, “but I said that was the best play of my life. I feel that was the key for me because I got more confidence, and then I could just go and try to get the next guy out."
Leclerc admitted to nerves while warming in the bullpen.
"I was nervous, 100% ... my first time, with that many fans in the stadium, mostly in the bullpen," he said. "When I get in the game, I say, ‘Let’s do it. Let me try to get three outs and that's what I did."
Heim's huge throw to second let Leclerc calm down a bit.
"That made me so happy. That was a big throw for Jonah," said Leclerc, who earned his first postseason save. "That was the best play for me. This is my favorite moment ever. This is the team that built me, in the playoffs for the first time, so that was important to me."
Chapman shrugged off the two walks in the eighth by just focusing on throwing strikes, he said.
"I lost a bit of control for a time. Just came back, trying to focus in on throwing strikes. I felt really good about the outcome," Chapman said. "If I'm healthy, that's the No. 1 thing. I tried to relax a little bit and get a double-play ball."
And that's what he did.
"When they needed to make pitches, they did," Heim said.
For a bullpen that blew 33 saves, second-most in the American League, and had the lowest save percentage along with the 103-loss Rockies at 48%, they've been solid through three games in the postseason.
"Every day we have a pitching meeting, and we go over it ... we try to put the guys in the best position to succeed and then Boch executes it perfectly," Rangers general manager Chris Young said. "And the guys came in and made pitches when they had to. It was awesome. Great win."
You can follow Stefan Stevenson on Twitter @StefanVersusTex.
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