A pair of unlikely Rangers relievers vault them atop the AL West with some key heroics

Admit it, unless you're a Pittsburgh Pirates or Washington Nationals fan, you had never heard of Trevor Williams before the Texas Rangers picked him up off the scrap heap close to three weeks ago. It's ok! The journeyman reliever was completely out of baseball before he showed up in Arlington as a free agent on September 1.

Jordan Montgomery is a familiar face because he was a huge part of the Rangers' 2023 World Series squad. Still, it was unclear if and when the big lefty would be able to pitch in 2026. Monty has had a rough go of it since he left and was fortunate to get a 1-year, $1.25 million deal to spend most of the season rehabbing.

Nonetheless, both have come up huge for the Rangers, who now sit atop the AL West by 1 game after the Rangers' 6-2 victory over the Blue Jays paired with the Astros' 6-3 loss to the Braves on Saturday night.

Nobody had Trevor Williams and Jordan Montgomery on their bingo cards as clutch Rangers performers coming into 2026

Many Rangers fans forgot that Williams was still on the roster when he came in to get the clutch win on Friday. He hadn't pitched in 10 days and appeared to be Skip Schumaker's last option out of the bullpen. Don't tell Williams that because he came in and delivered 4 huge innings to close out the Jays en route to a big 7-1 win that got the Rangers back to .500 on the season.

All he did was come in and pitch four innings of scoreless baseball on only two hits while racking up four Ks. He did what has kept him in the league for a decade, which is crafting pitches with great location and change of speed. Toronto hitters were helpless against the 34-year-old San Diego native's low-90s four-seamer as he was awarded the rare 4-inning relief win.

Montgomery has barely pitched since his return to the major leagues. Before Saturday night, he had thrown just 14 innings with an even 5.00 ERA. Still, when the Rangers needed him to come in and relieve an injured Cal Quantrill in the top of the second inning, Monty was ready for the assignment.

The southpaw tossed 3.2 hitless innings, allowing the Ranger offense to cobble together a comfortable 6-1 lead. It felt like 2023 again, with Montgomery locating his low-90s four-seam fastball and slider. He pitched to contact and trusted the defense behind him to get the job done. He was rewarded with his first win of the season.

If the Rangers can continue to get unexpected heroics from the background bullpen guys like Williams and Montgomery to go along with a healthy Corey Seager, Josh Jung, Wyatt Langford, and the rest of the offense, this team might just sneak into the playoffs and do some damage once there.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow