MLB Game of the Week - Sunday
- Handicapper
- Jim Feist
- League
- MLB
- Competition
- Baltimore Orioles vs Texas Rangers
- Release Date
- 08/09/2026 11:03 AM
- Event Date
- 08/09/2026 02:35 PM
- Bet Type
- Moneyline
- Pick
-
Texas Rangers -126
(BetOnline)
- Outcome
- Loss
- Analysis
- I’ll take the Rangers to sweep the Orioles on Sunday. Texas comes into the finale at 59-58 after winning four straight. Baltimore has lost three straight and fallen to 56-61.
Here’s one big reason why: Kumar Rocker. The Texas righty gets the start Sunday and enters the game with a record of 4-8 and a 4.08 ERA with 98 strikeouts. Rocker hasn’t been dominant at any stage this season, but he has a power arsenal that should give him an edge over Baltimore’s offense, which is going absolutely nowhere right now.
The Orioles have scored a total of 11 runs over their last seven games and have mustered one run in each of the first two games of this series. Baltimore lost 2-1 on Friday, then fell apart and lost 5-1 on Saturday. They simply aren’t producing enough offense to hang with anyone. If Rocker can limit Baltimore to two or three runs, he’s probably going to win this game. He doesn’t have to be perfect if Texas can continue to play defense like it has in this series.
The Orioles will throw lefty Cade Povich on Sunday. Povich is 2-1 with a 3.91 ERA, and he did earn some respect by tossing six scoreless innings with seven strikeouts against the Angels in his last start. But Texas has reason to like its chances against a left-hander. The Rangers are batting .253 against lefties this season, so they should be able to create more offense than the Angels did versus Povich.
Speaking of bullpens, Texas’ relievers were excellent after Jacob deGrom exited Saturday’s game. Peyton Gray, Chase Silseth and Cal Quantrill combined for four scoreless innings. Baltimore’s bullpen is good too, but Texas has a better chance of closing this game if Rocker simply gets it through five or six innings with a lead.
The Orioles simply can’t hit right now. Even good starting pitching hasn’t been able to help them lately. Kyle Bradish threw six scoreless innings Saturday, but Baltimore still lost 4-0 because it couldn’t muster any offense and made some defensive miscues before Baltimore’s bullpen imploded in the late innings. I'll take the hosts in this one as my overall Game of the Week!
Jim's Play: 914. Rangers (MLB Game of the Week)
