Texas Rangers vs Tampa Bay Rays Prediction, Preview and Odds - 10/04/2023

Game Time: 3:08 pm ET, Wednesday, October 4, 2023

Venue:  Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, FL 

Where to Watch:  ABC

DraftKings:  Moneyline odds:  Rangers +124, Rays -148; Over/Under:  8 runs

Bet365:  Moneyline odds:  Rangers +130, Rays -150; Over/Under:  8 runs

BetMGM:  Moneyline odds:  Rangers +125, Rays -150; Over/Under:  8 runs

Texas Rangers:  90-72 (2nd place, AL West)

Tampa Bay Rays:  99-63 (2nd place, AL East)

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Texas Rangers:  6-4 last 10

Tampa Bay Rays:  6-4 last 10

The Rangers are entering this series off a loss and lost their 4-game series against the Seattle Mariners 3-1 in their last series of the regular season. They finished the regular season with a 90-72 record overall and had a road record of 40-41. This is the 2nd game of a best 2 out of 3 game series with the Rays on Wednesday for the AL Wild Card Series and they won game 1 of this series on Tuesday. Their offense ranks 3rd in the MLB with a .789 OPS. Jordan Montgomery was their starting pitcher on Tuesday while Nathan Eovaldi is making his start in this game on Wednesday. He is 12-5 with a 3.63 ERA this season. His team won 4 of their last 5 games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season start, he allowed 7 ER, 2 HR, and 2 BB with 5 Ks on 5 hits through 3.1 IP against the Seattle Mariners.

The Rays are entering this series on a 2 game winning streak and won their 3-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays 2-1 in their last series of the regular season. They finished the regular season with a 99-63 record overall and had a home record of 53-28. This is the 2nd game of a best 2 out of 3 game series with the Rangers on Wednesday for the AL Wild Card Series and they lost game 1 of this series on Tuesday. Their offense ranks 4th in the MLB with a .776 OPS. Tyler Glasnow was their starting pitcher on Tuesday while Zach Eflin is making his start in this game on Wednesday. He is 16-8 with a 3.50 ERA this season. His team won their last 6 straight games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season start, he allowed 3 earned runs, 1 homer, and 0 BB with 4 strikeouts on 5 hits through 5 innings played against the Boston Red Sox.

The current betting odds have the Rays listed as a favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. This will be the 2nd game of a best of 3 series to see who advances to the ALDS as the Rangers now have a 1-0 lead after beating the Rays on Tuesday. The Rangers won in a 4-0 game as the Rays weren't able to get anything going offensively but they still have one of the best offenses in the MLB and it will be hard for the Rangers to shut them out again in back-to-back games. The Rays have also been really good in their home games all season so they will be really motivated to bounce back and tie this series, especially since a loss means getting knocked out of the playoffs for them. The Rays also have the better pitching matchup here since Eflin has been solid at home all season while Eovaldi has also been good but has been giving up a ton of runs lately as he has been unraveling in the final month of the regular season. This is a must win game for the Rays at home and they will pull it out here. The best way to place a bet here is on the Rays to win this game.  

Rangers Rays Prediction:  Our MLB Pick for Wednesday, October 4, 2023 (3:08 pm ET start time) is Rays 6 Rangers 3.

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Texas Rangers: 40-41 (-4.7 units) on the moneyline in road games. 62-55 (-3.6 units) on the moneyline against right-handed starters. 41-39 (-8.9 units) on the moneyline in the second half of the season. NATHAN EOVALDI is 8-2 OVER in playoff games and 11-6 OVER as an underdog of +100 to +150.

Tampa Bay Rays: 85-40 (+21.9 units) on the moneyline as a favorite of -110 or higher. 76-44 (+16.8 units) on the moneyline when the total is 7 to 8.5. 53-28 (+10.4 units) on the moneyline in home games. 47-26 OVER as a home favorite of -110 or higher. 51-29 OVER in home games. 21-11 OVER against AL West opponents.

Texas Rangers:  J. Gray (SP) Out indefinitely - Forearm. I. Kennedy (RP) out for season - Shoulder. M. Scherzer (SP) Early Oct - Shoulder. B. Miller (DH) out for season - Hamstring. J. deGrom (SP) out for season - Elbow. J. Odorizzi (SP) out for season - Shoulder. B. Martin (RP) Out indefinitely - Shoulder.

Tampa Bay Rays:  L. Raley (RF) Early Oct - Neck. J. Adam (RP) Out indefinitely - Oblique. C. Faucher (RP) out for season - Bicep. B. Lowe (2B) Late Oct - Knee. G. Jones (SS) out for season - Hamstring. J. Siri (CF) Early Oct - Hand. W. Franco (SS) Out indefinitely - Personal. S. McClanahan (SP) out for season - Forearm. D. Rasmussen (RP) out for season - Elbow. G. Cleavinger (RP) out for season - Knee. J. Springs (RP) out for season - Elbow. S. Baz (SP) out for season - Elbow.

“It wasn't a soft landing was it? He's a big fellow. Great catch by him. We were in a tight situation there. ... Just shows you how competitive he is to go out there and dive for that ball.” - Bruce Bochy after his team’s win against the Rays in game 1 of this series.

“We didn't hit, pitch or defend. When you're up against a good team, they're going to capitalize, and they eventually really did.” - Kevin Cash after his team’s loss against the Rangers in game 1 of this series.

Marcus Semien (R) 2B

Corey Seager (L) SS

Robbie Grossman (S) DH

Adolis Garcia (R) RF

Nathaniel Lowe (L) 1B

Jonah Heim (S) C

Leody Taveras (S) CF

Josh Jung (R) 3B

Evan Carter (L) LF

Yandy Diaz (R) 1B

Randy Arozarena (R) LF

Harold Ramirez (R) DH

Isaac Paredes (R) 3B

Curtis Mead (R) 2B

Manuel Margot (R) RF

Taylor Walls (S) SS

Jose Siri (R) CF

Rene Pinto (R) C

Batting Average:  Corey Seager (.327)

Hits:  Marcus Semien (185)

Home Runs:  Adolis Garcia (39)

RBI:  Adolis Garcia (107)

Stolen Bases:  Travis Jankowski (19)

Wins:  Nathan Eovaldi (12)

Saves:  Will Smith (22)

ERA:  Jake Latz (0.00)

Batting Average:  Tristan Gray (.400)

Hits:  Yandy Diaz (173)

Home Runs:  Isaac Paredes (31)

RBI:  Isaac Paredes (98)

Stolen Bases:  Josh Lowe (32)

Wins:  Zach Eflin (16)

Saves:  Pete Fairbanks (25)

ERA:  Chase Anderson (0.00)

Managers:

Texas Rangers: Bruce Bochy (1st season)

Tampa Bay Rays: Kevin Cash (9th season)