AL Wild Card Series 2023: Rangers vs. Rays Storylines and Preview
The Texas Rangers and Tampa Bay Rays have the potential to put up a ton of runs in each contest of their American League wild-card series.
The two best hitters in the AL reside on each roster. Tampa Bay's Yandy Diaz edged out Texas' Corey Seager for the AL batting title.
Diaz, Seager and their teammates could control the series at the plate because of the lack of dominant arms on both sides.
The Rays pitching staff is top heavy with Tyler Glasnow expected to start Game 1, but after that, manager Kevin Cash may have to piece together his pitching game plans because of all the injuries to the team's pitchers.
Texas is not expected to have Max Scherzer back for the postseason and it enters October with the worst bullpen ERA of the 12 playoff participants.
Whichever team patches together the pitching game plan that works best could survive to move on and face the Baltimore Orioles in the ALDS.
Offense Should Dominate Series
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Most of the statistics are pointing to a high-scoring series inside Tropicana Field.
Glasnow is the only dominant starter expected to toe the rubber in the best-of-three set, but he showed some flaws in September. He conceded four or more earned runs in three of his last four starts.
Texas was the only team who had two players finish in the top 10 in the AL in batting average. Seager and Marcus Semien could set the tone for the series by reaching base early against Glasnow.
The Rangers excel at hitting the long ball. Seager, Semien, Adolis Garcia and Josh Jung all hit over 20 home runs. Mitch Garver and Jonah Heim can change games with home-run swings from the bottom of their order.
Diaz was one of six Rays to eclipse the 20-home run mark in the regular season. They have comparable power at the bottom of the lineup, led by Jose Siri.
The Rays are without Brandon Lowe and Luke Raley, so their power from the left side of the plate will drop off, but that can be made up for by Randy Arozarena.
Arozarena has 11 postseason home runs and carried the Rays offense to the 2020 World Series.
Which Team Patches Together Best Pitching Strategy?
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Neither manager has an ideal task on his hands when figuring out the pitching matchups in the series.
The Rays have a defined Game 1 starter in Glasnow, who needs to get through six innings to give the bullpen some relief heading into Game 2 and Game 3, if necessary.
Tampa Bay lost Shane McClanahan and Drew Rasmussen to injuries earlier this season. Zach Eflin is the Game 2 starter, but if the series reaches Game 3, it may have to rely heavily on its bullpen.
Texas would love for its bullpen to be used as little as possible in the series. Relief pitching is the Rangers' biggest flaw, and to avoid that being an issue in October, they need a few of their starters to step up.
Nathan Eovaldi and Jordan Montgomery have some postseason experience, and they must rely on that to produce quality starts.
Eovaldi needs a complete reversal of his recent form to be a reliable arm in October. He conceded 12 earned runs in his last two starts against the Seattle Mariners in postseason-like matchups.
Montgomery is probably the best arm on the Texas roster right now. He allowed two earned runs in his last 27 innings.
Both pitching staffs have a few bright spots, but there are more concerns on each side going into the postseason, which means either team will need one or two arms to step up to advance to the ALDS.
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