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The Texas Rangers and the Tampa Bay Rays play Game 2 of an AL Wild Card Series Wednesday at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla. First pitch is scheduled for 3:08 p.m. ET (ABC). Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s lines around the Rangers vs. Rays odds and make our expert MLB picks and predictions for the best bets.
Wild-card series: Rangers lead 1-0
The Rangers showed that the regular season still matters, but all records truly begin at 0-0 when the playoffs start. Texas dropped 7 of the final 10 games in the regular season and lost 2 of 3 meetings at Tropicana Field from June 9-11. The Rangers didn’t care about that on Tuesday, winning 4-0 in Game 1, while outhitting the Rays 9-6.
The Rays committed 4 errors in the series opener while managing just 1 extra-base hit. It was the first shutout loss for Tampa Bay since an 8-0 shellacking at the Baltimore Orioles on Sept. 16, and the first shutout loss at home since a 1-0 loss on Sept. 7 against the Seattle Mariners.
Texas has now won 4 straight meetings against Tampa Bay, with the Rangers outscoring the Rays 17-6 during the win streak. The Under has cashed in each of the past 4 meetings, too.
Rangers at Rays projected starters
RHP Nathan Eovaldi vs. RHP Zach Eflin
Eovaldi made 25 starts in the regular season, going 12-5 with a 3.63 ERA. He had a 1.14 WHIP, 2.9 BB/9 and 8.3 K/9 over 144 innings.
- Last start: Loss, 3 1/3 IP, 7 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 5 K in 8-0 road loss vs. Mariners Friday
- 2023 road splits: 6-2, 3.56 ERA (78 1/3 IP, 31 ER), 6 HR, .227 OBA in 13 starts
- Making his 7th career postseason start and 12th overall appearance
Eflin was 16-8 with a 3.50 ERA across 31 regular-season starts. He had a 1.02 WHIP, 1.2 BB/9 and 9.4 K/9 in 177 2/3 innings.
- Last start: Win, 5 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 0 BB, 4 K in 9-7 road win vs. Boston Red Sox Sept. 26
- 2023 home splits: 11-4, 3.30 ERA (103 2/3 IP, 38 ER), 11 HR, .238 OBA in 18 starts
- Making his 1st career postseason start and 11th overall appearance
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Rangers at Rays odds
Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 8:13 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Rangers +135 (bet $100 to win $135) | Rays -160 (bet $160 to win $100)
- Run line (RL)/Against the spread (ATS): Rangers +1.5 (-155) | Rays -1.5 (+125)
- Over/Under (O/U): 8 (O: -105 | U: -115)
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Rangers at Rays picks and predictions
Prediction
Rangers 4, Rays 2
Moneyline
The RANGERS (+135) are worth a look on the road in Game 2, as they look to send the Rays to the golf course.
Texas got the job done in Game 1, and it is a strong play as a short ‘dog mainly due to the postseason experience factor. Eovaldi has been through the postseason wars in his previous stops, while Eflin is making his first-ever playoff start. Advantage Texas.
In addition, who could blame the Rays for coming out flat, with a historically poor crowd of less than 20,000 fans supporting the team in St. Pete?
Run line/Against the spread
The RANGERS +1.5 (-155) aren’t a terrible play in Game 2 if you just can’t pick the underdogs straight up and would prefer some insurance.
The Rays were sloppy on defense in Game 1 and they plated as many runs as you have reading this column. Tampa is just 9-9 in the past 18 games on the run line when favored after losing the series opener.
Over/Under
The UNDER 8 (-115) is the play again in Game 2. The Rays had hit the Over in 10 of their final 11 regular-season games, but we went low against the trends in Game 1, and we’ll look to run it back for this pivotal Game 2.
The Under has cashed in 3 in a row for the Rangers while going 5-0-1 in their past 6 games overall. Look for runs to be at a premium again in Game 2.
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