Subscribe
Follow Us
The Baltimore Orioles look to complete the sweep of the Texas Rangers in some afternoon baseball. It's time to continue our MLB odds series with an Orioles-Rangers prediction, pick, and how to watch.
The Orioles' pitching has looked good against the Rangers thus far in the series. Kyle Gibson has his start moved up a day and went seven innings, giving up two runs while striking out five. The two runs were both off solo shots from the Rangers, as the O's won 7-2. The bullpen has yet to give up a run in the series and will look to continue that today. The Rangers' bats have cooled off since their opening series. They scored 29 runs in three games against the Phillies, but have just two runs since.
Here are the Orioles-Rangers MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Orioles-Rangers Odds
Baltimore Orioles: +1.5 (-137)
Texas Rangers: -1.5 (+114)
Over: 7.5 (-114)
Under: 7.5 (-106)
How To Watch Orioles vs. Rangers
TV: MASN2/BSSW
Stream: MLB.TV
Time: 2:05 PM ET/ 11:05 am PT
*Watch MLB games LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why The Orioles Could Cover The Spread
The Orioles have gotten great pitching so far in this series. Kyle Bradish started on Monday, and he was going strong until he got hurt. The Orioles then took Tyler Wells out of the bullpen, who was scheduled to start Tuesday. Wells did not give up a hit or a walk while striking out two in five scoreless innings of work. He gave way to Felix Bautista who then got the save. That was an encouraging outing for the closer. In his two prior games, he has only given up one earned run, but three unearned in those games. Tuesday saw more great work from the bullpen, giving up a walk and a hit with three strikeouts and no runs in two innings of work.
The bullpen should be rested for this game, only having to work two innings yesterday and most of the Monday game being taken by Tyler Wells. With the injury to Bradish, the Orioles have called up Grayson Rodriguez. The 23-year-old was potentially going to make the opening-day roster, but he struggled in spring training. He had a 7.04 ERA in 15 1/3 innings in the spring, and the Orioles sent him to Norfolk. In his lone start in Norfolk, he gave up two earned runs in four innings of work. If he pitches like the highly-ranked prospect he is, it should be a good day, but if not, the bullpen will be called upon.
Beyond the great pitching the O's have received, the bats have been going as well. Austin Hays, Adam Frazier, Jorge Mateo, and Cedric Mullins all have on-base percentages over .400, and all four, plus Adley Rutschman have a batting average over .300. Ryan Mountcastle is also contributing, and while his batting average is .273, he has two doubles, two home runs, and six RBIs so far this year. The team also leads the league in stolen bases this year, and Mateo and Mullins both have four each. They have speed and have been making good contact, which is a great combination for scoring runs.
Why The Rangers Could Cover The Spread
The Rangers need to get back to scoring. The first game of the season saw seven of the nine batters get hits, with the bottom of the order driving in runs. The 6-7-8 batters drove in seven runs in the opening game. Game two saw more of the same, with 11 of the 12 guys who came to the plate getting a hit. Only Duran did not get a hit, but he only came to the plate once. Again, run production came from the bottom of the order, with the seven-hitter Garver driving in six.
The bats have gone cold since. In the 2-0 loss to Baltimore, only Josh Jung had a hit. Game two was a little better, with seven hits spread across six different guys. The only run production came via solo home runs though, as Lowe and Garcia each had one. The bottom of the order, and the vast number of hits led the offense to huge outputs, and the Rangers need to get back to that against Rodriguez tonight.
On the bump for the Rangers will be Jacob deGrom. His first outing did not go as planned, with him giving up five runs and six hits in just 3 2/3 innings of work. That was his shortest outing since September 16th of 2020 against the Phillies as a member of the New York Mets. He should be able to bounce back though, as deGrom has given up five runs just one other time since 2020.
Final Orioles-Rangers Prediction & Pick
Today is a pitching match-up between one of the best in deGrom against a kid making his MLB debut. This is a tough spot for a rookie making his first start. He struggled in the spring and had to be disappointed to be sent to Norfolk to start the year. Today, he has a chance to show that he belongs on the MLB roster, and against a struggling Rangers squad could be in the right spot. The Rangers have good bats though and should bounce back. They string together some hits, deGrom pitches well, and the Rangers walk out with a win.
Final Orioles-Rangers Prediction & Pick: Rangers -1.5 (+114)
