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Be honest, did you see this matchup coming in April? Nobody did, but this looks like an interesting series.
The Arizona Diamondbacks have been considered underdogs throughout MLB Playoffs.
That will not change for the 2023 World Series against the Texas Rangers.
The Rangers, American League champions, enter the final MLB postseason series as favorites against the Arizona DBacks (who won the National League pennant). It begins Friday in Arlington, Texas’ Globe Life Field, where the Rangers’ home turf lies.
The Texas Rangers have an odds-on advantage to win the World Series this year at +176.
Texas is undefeated on the road in postseason play but has home-field advantage due to winning 90 games to Arizona’s 84 — a difference that could set an unprecedented two-flight World Series championship record behind only the St Louis Cardinals’ 83 in 2006. Arizona split two games with Texas in May before sweeping both home games in August – including an 11th-inning win by Geraldo Perdomo and Tommy Pham off Will Smith for an 11th-inning victory – giving Texas a 28-25 advantage in regular-season matchups vs Arizona Diamondbacks. The Rangers bullpen looks like a weakness, but it has pitched surprisingly well so far in this postseason.
The Texas Rangers’ offensive power may be their signature quality, but during these playoffs, what has put them over the edge has been their two starting pitchers’ consistent performances; without Jordan Montgomery and Nathan Eovaldi being so effective, Texas would not have made it to the World Series.
Arizona’s pitching rotation features Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly and Brandon Pfaadt, while its offense features Carroll, Christian Walker, Ketel Marte, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Gabriel Moreno. Lovullo, 58 years old, is in his seventh season as Diamondbacks manager and is back in the playoffs for the first time since 2017 when his team was defeated 4-0 by Los Angeles Dodgers in the Division Series.
Arizona has not relied heavily on any one starting pitcher or any one aspect for success this post-season; Torey Lovullo and his team have found whatever has been necessary for them to survive a particular series. Merrill Kelly and Zac Gallen provide Arizona with two starters capable of staying with Eovaldi and Montgomery; with Lovullo employing aggressive bullpen usage, there’s less pressure for that duo to go deep, yet Texas’ long and effective starts will make life more challenging for Arizona as Bruce Bochy can then both moderate his high-leverage reliever usage while keeping his staff fresh for when needed to feature multiple bullpen arms at once.
The end of the road for Arizona is here, and the fact is that the Phillies match up well with the Arizona right-handed hitters. The Rangers win this series in 5 or 6 games.
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