There are six active franchises in MLB that have never won a World Series. The Texas Rangers can cut that number to five on Wednesday night with a 3-1 lead entering Game 5 of the 2023 World Series at the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Rangers can also complete a historic perfect postseason on the road and are slight favorites on the SportsLine consensus, but there's mixed action with Arizona trying to force a Game 6 back in Arlington. Click here for model picks.
At BetMGM, the Rangers (-110) are taking 58% of the bets and 48% of the handle on the money line. On the total of 8.5 runs, the Over is taking 67% of the bets and 58% of the money. The Over is 3-1 in this Fall Classic with an average of 10.8 total runs scored through four games. Arizona, +1.5 (-185) on the run line, is taking just 23% of the bets and 30% of the money.
Even withot ALCS MVP Adolis Garcia, who is out for the rest of the series due to injury along with Max Scherzer, the Rangers scored 11 runs on Tuesday in the four-run victory. Travis Jankowski, who started for Garcia, was 2-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored. Marcus Semien had his best game of the postseason with a homer, triple, two runs scored and five RBI -- the most ever by a Rangers player in the Fall Classic and tied for second-most in a World Series game by any player.
Texas shortstop Corey Seager probably locked up World Series MVP honors -- he is the -750 favorite -- assuming the Rangers do win the series. He had a homer, a double and two RBI in Game 4. Seager has now homered in back-to-back World Series games, joining Derek Jeter as the only shortstops to do that. Seager's 19 career playoff homers are now second all-time for a shortstop behind Jeter's 20.
Seager also won 2020 World Series MVP honors with the Dodgers and would become only the fourth player to win the award multiple times since it was first given out in 1955. He would be the first to do so since Reggie Jackson won his second in 1977 with New York (after winning the first in 1973 with Oakland). Seager would join Jackson as only players to win the award with two different teams. I guarantee Seager to homer will be one of the most popular player props again tonight. He is 7-for-22 with a double off Arizona starter Zac Gallen.
The right-hander Gallen had a terrific regular season that will likely see him finish in the top three in the Cy Young Award voting, but is 0-2 with a 6.75 ERA in his past three playoff starts with fatigue possibly setting in. Gallen is set at over/under 15.5 outs amd 2.5 earned runs and is +290 for a win.
Texas is an astonishing 10-0 on the road in these playoffs, the longest road winning streak in MLB playoff history and the most road wins in a single postseason. The Rangers are outscoring opponents 66-29 on the road and have allowed two or fewer runs in seven of 10 games. The team has the second-longest title drought (in 62nd season) after Cleveland (75 years).
Including the NLCS, Arizona has now lost three straight at home by a combined score of 20-9 after starting 3-0 at Chase Field in this postseason. Ketel Marte did extend his playoff hitting streak to 20 games in Tuesday's loss, the longest in MLB history. Marte's 16-game hit streak this year is also the longest for a single postseason.
Marte is 1-for-3 with a double off Texas starter Nathan Eovaldi, who is 4-0 with a 3.52 ERA in five starts this postseason and 3-0 with a 1.33 ERA in four potential series-clinching games. Eovaldi will try to become the first starting pitcher to win five starts in a single postseason (a few relievers have done it). He is set at O/U 15.5 outs recorded and 2.5 earned runs and is +165 for a win.
Teams that win Game 4 of the World Series have gone on to win the title 85 times (72.0%), including in 15 of the last 20 years. The Rangers are now -1400 on the series line, with the Diamondbacks at +800. Arizona did rally from a 3-2 deficit in the NLCS, winning Games 6 and 7 in Philadelphia.
If Texas does finish this off, the only teams yet to win a World Series are Seattle (which has never even reached the Series), Tampa Bay, San Diego, Colorado and Milwaukee.
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