Tampa Bay Rays (99-63) vs Texas Rangers (90-72)
Game Info: Tuesday, October 3, 2023 at 3:08 pm (Tropicana Field)
Tyler Glasnow (10-7) (3.53) vs Jordan Montgomery (10-11) (3.20)
Betting Odds: Tampa Bay Rays -155 / Texas Rangers +124 --- Over/Under: 7.5 Click Here for the Latest Odds
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The Texas Rangers will play the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 1 of the AL Wild Card Series on Tuesday afternoon at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. Texas finished the season in the second AL Wild Card spot and lost the AL West on the last day of the season, while Tampa Bay finished in the first Wild Card spot.
Rangers Preview
The Texas Rangers finished the regular season with a 90-72 record and they finished the season by losing three out of four games on the road against Seattle. Texas played very inconsistently over the last two months, but they still had a shot to win the division on Sunday, before losing it to Houston. The Texas pitching staff has a 4.28 ERA, a 1.27 WHIP, and a .245 opponent batting average this season. The Rangers offense has scored 881 runs with a .263 batting average and a .337 on base percentage. Corey Seager is batting .327 with 33 home runs and 96 RBI’s for the Rangers. The projected starting pitcher for Texas is Jordan Montgomery, who is 10-11 with a 3.20 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP over 188.2 innings pitched this year.
Rays Preview
The Tampa Bay Rays finished the season with a 99-63 record and they won four of their last five games. Tampa Bay is coming off of a series win against Toronto, where they won two out of three games. The Rays were within striking distance of the Orioles in the AL East for a long time, but they could never seem to keep the momentum in the chase. The Tampa Bay pitching staff has a 3.86 ERA, a 1.18 WHIP, and a .231 opponent batting average. The Rays offense has scored 860 runs with a .260 batting average and a .331 on base percentage this year. Randy Arozarena is batting .254 with 23 home runs and 83 RBI’s for the Rays. The projected starting pitcher for Tampa Bay is Tyler Glasnow, who is 10-7 with a 3.53 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP over 120 innings pitched this season.
Tampa Bay Rays Team Facts
- The Rays have lost each of their last three games as home favorites following a win.
- The Rays have failed to cover the run line in each of their last five games at Tropicana Field.
- The Rays have won the first inning in each of their last five day games against American League opponents that held a winning record.
- The 'Inning 1 OVER 0.5 runs' market has hit in each of the Rays' last nine games at Tropicana Field.
- The Rays have trailed after 7 innings in four of their last five games as home favorites.
Texas Rangers Team Facts
- The Rangers have lost each of their last seven playoff games following a loss.
- The Rangers have covered the run line in nine of their last 10 games against AL East opponents.
- The Rangers have led after 7 innings in each of their last six games against AL East opponents that held a winning record.
- The Rangers have led after 5 innings in each of their last six games against AL East opponents that held a winning record.
- The 'Inning 1 UNDER 0.5 runs' market has hit in each of the Rangers' last five games as road underdogs.
Tampa Bay Rays Player Prop Facts
- Randy Arozarena has hit a home run in three of the Rays' last four playoff games as favorites against AL West opponents.
- Harold Ramirez has recorded at least one RBI in four of the Rays' last five games.
- Harold Ramirez has recorded two or more hits in each of the Rays' last four day games.
- Harold Ramirez has scored at least one run in each of the Rays' last five games against AL opponents that held a winning record.
- Yandy Diaz has recorded two or more total bases in each of the Rays' last six games as home favorites against AL West opponents.
- Yandy Diaz ranks 4th amongst qualified players for On Base Percentage (.410) this season.
Texas Rangers Player Prop Facts
- Corey Seager has hit a home run in each of his last three appearances in day playoff games.
- Jonah Heim has recorded at least one RBI in seven of the Rangers' last eight games against AL East opponents.
- Marcus Semien has recorded two or more total bases in each of his last six playoff appearances.
- Corey Seager has scored at least one run in each of the Rangers' last six road games against AL East opponents that held a winning record.
- Corey Seager has recorded at least one hit in each of the Rangers' last 11 road games against AL East opponents that held a winning record.
- Corey Seager ranks 5th amongst qualified players for Batting Average (.327) this season.
Matchup/League Facts
- The Tampa Bay Rays rank 3rd in the league for batting average this season (.260).
- The Tampa Bay Rays are one of only 3 teams in the league to rank top 10 in both steals and batting average this season.
- The Texas Rangers rank 2nd in the league for batting average this season (.263).
- The Texas Rangers rank 3rd in the league for runs scored this season (881).
Pick
The Rangers really missed out on a good opportunity to win the AL West over the weekend, as they struggled in their series with Seattle. The Rangers will now have to travel to take on a very good Tampa Bay team in this series. Both of these offenses have been very good this season and they are in the top four in runs scored, but the Texas pitching staff has had issues. The starting pitching for Texas has had some question marks, but the bullpen has been terrible down the stretch. The Rangers are going with Jordan Montgomery in this one, who has allowed two earned runs in his last four starts (27 IP). The Rays are starting Tyler Glasnow, who has allowed four earned runs or more in three of his last four starts. I think we are getting some good value on the Rangers in this game, even with the questionable pitching, as Glasnow struggled in three of his last four starts. Take Texas to win Game 1 here.
David’s Pick Rangers ML
AUTHOR: David Racey
Mitch's Take...
