MLB Playoff Picture 2023: Hot Takes and Top Storylines for October 10 Schedule
The Baltimore Orioles are on the brink of going from best regular-season team in the American League to winless in the 2023 MLB Playoffs.
The Texas Rangers took the first two games of the ALDS in Baltimore and they could pull off the sweep with Nathan Eovaldi on the hill on Tuesday night.
Eovaldi reversed his end-of-regular-season form with a 6.2-inning gem in the wild-card round to close out the Tampa Bay Rays.
Baltimore must solve Eovaldi and have Dean Kremer slow down the Rangers' bats in order to force Game 4.
The Houston Astros and Minnesota Twins will play at least four games in their ALDS matchup after their split in Houston.
Minnesota appears to have a small edge with a red-hot Carlos Correa leading the lineup and Sonny Gray headed to the mound.
However, you can never fully count out the Astros in any postseason game.
October 10 Playoffs Schedule
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Game 3: Houston at Minnesota (4:07 p.m. ET, Fox) (Series tied 1-1)
Game 3: Baltimore at Texas (8:07 p.m. ET, Fox) (Texas leads series 2-0)
Orioles in Must-Win Situation
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Baltimore is under the most pressure it has been in this season.
The Orioles' pitching staff failed to quiet the Texas bats at Camden Yards, and their offense could not keep pace with the AL West side.
Baltimore has to crack Eovadi early. which is a harder task than it seemed to be a week ago.
Eovaldi gave up 12 earned runs in his final two regular-season starts and then held the Rays to a single run over 6.2 innings.
The heart of Baltimore's order has plenty of experience against Eovaldi. Cedric Mullins and Austin Hays are among five Orioles with at least 20 at-bats versus the right-handed hurler.
Mullins, Hays and Ryan Mountcastle have 22 hits against Eovaldi between them, but past history did not do much to help the Orioles against Andrew Heaney or Jordan Montgomery.
If the Orioles' lineup can only muster a few runs, Kremer has to be at his best to slow down the Texas offense.
The biggest concern around Kremer is his high home run concession. He allowed 27 long balls in the regular season.
However, he held Texas to three earned runs in 6.1 innings on May 27 and he allowed just two home runs in his last eight appearances.
The Orioles need the great version of Kremer to show up in Game 3, so it can win in any fashion and extend the series at least one more day.
Houston In Better Shape Than Expected To Compete For Game 3 Win
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Some observers would think the Astros are under more pressure in their series with the Twins.
Minnesota got a split out of Houston and it has the advantage on paper in the pitching matchup with Sonny Gray facing Cristian Javier in Game 3.
But Javier is capable of producing a five-or-six-inning gem in which Houston breaks out to a multi-run advantage.
Javier finished the regular season with a 4.56 ERA, which was significantly worse than Gray's 2.79 ERA, but his last start against the Arizona Diamondbacks was arguably his best of the season.
Javier gave up three hits over six innings and allowed the Astros to win a game they needed in the AL West title run. He could throw another strong game in a pressure-packed road environment on Tuesday.
Minnesota scored 10 runs in the series, but Correa is the only player in its lineup with more than two hits.
Jose Altuve, Yordan Alvarez and 2022 postseason hero Jeremy Pena each have three hits for the Astros. All three of Alvarez's hits have been home runs.
The top of the Houston order could force Gray into a high pitch count in the first five innings and force the Twins bullpen to beat them. Gray did not make it out of the fifth inning in three of his last six starts.
Houston achieved most of its success in Games 1 and 2 against the Twins bullpen, and if it chases Gray early, it could string together a few big hits against the relievers again to earn an edge in the series.
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