BALTIMORE — For the first time this postseason, the maligned Texas bullpen had to protect a slim lead in the late innings.

Josh Sborz, Aroldis Chapman and José Leclerc wobbled but didn’t fall.

Andrew Heaney and Dane Dunning helped Texas reach the sixth inning ahead, and the Rangers held on through some anxious moments for a 3-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles in Game 1 of their AL Division Series on Saturday.

“The bullpen did a great job,” Manager Bruce Bochy said. “Got bumpy, but found a way to get through it.”

Josh Jung homered and made a nice play at third base to start a critical double play for Texas, which improved to 3-0 in these playoffs – all on the road.

After leading the AL West most of the season but squandering the division crown on the final weekend, the wild-card Rangers entered the postseason without Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer, and with a bullpen largely considered a weak link. But they’ve allowed only three runs in three games against the Orioles and Rays.

The late innings weren’t all that stressful in the Wild Card Series against Tampa Bay, as Texas outscored the Rays 11-1 for a two-game sweep. It was a more nervous finish against the Orioles.

Heaney held Baltimore to a run and two hits in 3 2/3 innings. Dunning relieved him and went two innings for the win, allowing a run in the sixth. Will Smith, Sborz, Chapman and Leclerc combined for the final 10 outs – but not without some drama.

Sborz threw seven straight balls to start the seventh but pitched around a leadoff walk. Chapman walked the first two batters in the eighth before Jung ranged to his left and snagged Anthony Santander’s high bouncer on a short hop to start a 5-4-3 double play. Chapman then struck out Ryan Mountcastle with a runner on third to end the inning.

Leclerc earned the save, although he allowed a leadoff single in the ninth to Gunnar Henderson. All-Star catcher Jonah Heim threw out Henderson trying to steal second, and the Orioles didn’t manage another runner.

Baltimore Manager Brandon Hyde didn’t appear happy in the dugout with Henderson’s decision to go.

“A little miscommunication there,” Hyde said.

Kyle Bradish struck out nine in 4 2/3 innings for the Orioles but allowed two runs in the fourth to take the loss. Jung and Santander traded solo homers in the sixth.

Adolis García and Evan Carter hit consecutive doubles to put Texas up 1-0 in the fourth, and Heim followed with an RBI single.

The 21-year-old Carter became the youngest player in major league history with four extra-base hits in his first three postseason games.

Mountcastle hit a run-scoring double for the Orioles in the bottom of the fourth, but Dunning came in and held the lead.

PHILLIES 3, BRAVES 0: Bryce Harper homered, Ranger Suárez and the Philadelphia bullpen stifled baseball’s most prolific offense, and the Phillies blanked host Atlanta in Game 1 of the NL Division Series.

In a playoff rematch between division rivals, the East champion Braves find themselves in exactly the same position as a year ago: trailing the Phillies after the opener at Truist Park. The Phillies went on to eliminate the Braves on the way to the World Series.

Wild-card series hero Bryson Stott broke a scoreless tie with a run-scoring single in the fourth. Harper padded the lead with a drive over the right-field wall in the sixth off Spencer Strider, baseball’s only 20-game winner this season.

The Braves, who tied the major league record with 307 homers during the regular season and averaged more than 5.8 runs per game, couldn’t muster anything against a parade of hard-throwing Philadelphia relievers.

It was just the third time all year – and first since May 12 – that Atlanta failed to score. The Braves were shut out at home for the first time.

ASTROS 6, TWINS 4: Justin Verlander pitched six shutout innings, Yordan Alvarez homered twice and Houston held off visiting Minnesota in an AL Division Series opener.

Jose Altuve hit a leadoff home run and Alvarez had three RBI as the defending World Series champions earned their 10th straight victory in Game 1 of a Division Series.

Verlander settled in after a shaky start and the Astros built a 5-0 lead through six innings with big swings from Altuve and Alvarez.

Héctor Neris took over for Verlander to start the seventh. With two outs, Jorge Polanco hit a soaring three-run homer to right field. Two pitches later, rookie Royce Lewis launched his third homer in three playoff games to make it 5-4.

In the bottom half, Caleb Thielbar entered to face Alvarez with one out. The slugger became the first left-handed hitter to homer off Thielbar this season when he smacked an off-speed pitch off the foul pole in right to give Houston some insurance.

Bryan Abreu got four outs, striking out three, and Ryan Pressly fanned two in a scoreless ninth for the save. He struck out Lewis to end it.

NOTES

RANGERS-ORIOLES: If Max Scherzer is going to pitch in this postseason, he’ll have to hope the Rangers advance at least one more round.

Scherzer was left off the AL Division Series roster. The three-time Cy Young Award winner hasn’t pitched since Sept. 12 because of shoulder problems, and now he won’t be available in this matchup with Baltimore.

The Orioles had a big omission of their own. Left-hander John Means was left off their roster because of elbow soreness.

Scherzer faced hitters on Friday in a workout the day before Game 1, but he said afterward he’d need to see how his body recovers. The Rangers acquired him in a trade at this year’s deadline from the New York Mets.

“He threw yesterday, and he threw well,” Manager Bruce Bochy said Saturday. “Today he got up and felt pretty good. Still, we didn’t feel like we had enough information where we could put him on the roster right now. He was not going to be available the first two games.”

Means returned from Tommy John surgery late this season and went 1-2 with a 2.66 ERA in four starts for the Orioles. Baltimore picked Kyle Bradish and Grayson Rodriguez to start the first two games of this series at home. Manager Brandon Hyde said he has a pitching plan for when the series moves to Texas but wasn’t ready to disclose it.

Dean Kremer and Kyle Gibson are the other likely candidates to start in the series for the Orioles.

“We feel great about our starting pitching depth, and Dean and Kyle Gibson both threw the ball extremely well this year,” Hyde said. “We’re hoping that John can take a few days off, rehab, and hopefully if we can advance that he’ll be available for the next series.”

ASTROS-TWINS: Houston reliever Kendall Graveman was left off the AL Division Series roster against the Minnesota Twins because of right shoulder discomfort.

Graveman, who was acquired in a trade with the White Sox in July, was 2-2 with a 2.42 ERA in 23 appearances for Houston this season.

For the Twins, designated hitter Byron Buxton remained out because of a sore knee after also being left off the Wild Card Series roster. The only change Minnesota made from that round was to add Game 1 starter Bailey Ober for left-hander Kody Funderburk, who did not pitch in the wild card.

Buxton hasn’t played since Aug. 1 but took live batting practice Friday and hoped he could return against the Astros.

PHILLIES-BRAVES: Kyle Wright missed nearly the entire season dealing with shoulder issues.

Now, it looks like the Atlanta Braves right-hander will be out for all of 2024, as well.

After Wright was left off the roster for the NL Division Series against Philadelphia, Manager Brian Snitker revealed before Game 1 on Saturday that Wright sustained a setback in his recovery.

Wright underwent an MRI on Friday and is likely to need surgery that would cost him another full season, according to Snitker.

After leading the majors with 21 wins last season, Wright underwent a cortisone injection in January to deal with lingering shoulder pain, forcing him to start the season on the injured list.

He made his debut on April 11 but got through only five starts – going 0-1 with a 5.79 ERA – before returning to the injured list.

Wright was out for more than four months before he finally returned to the Braves on Sept. 11. But he never looked like the pitcher who had that breakout season, giving up 10 earned runs, 11 hits, six walks and three homers over seven innings in two starts against the Phillies.

With Wright unavailable, the Braves added hard-throwing reliever Daysbel Hernández and top prospect AJ Smith-Shawver to their NLDS roster. They passed on 40-year-old reliever Jesse Chavez, who missed a good chunk of the season because of a leg injury but posted a 1.56 ERA in 36 appearances.

Philadelphia made only one change from the 26-man roster it used for a two-game sweep of the Miami Marlins in the wild-card round. Right-hander Michael Lorenzen (9-9, 4.18 ERA) replaced infielder Weston Wilson to give the Phillies a 13th pitcher.