Texas Rangers vs. Tampa Bay Rays – MLB Betting

The Texas Rangers and the Tampa Bay Rays will end their series where it began one week ago, in Tropicana Field in Tampa Bay with their best pitchers on the mound.

The Rangers are hoping for a repeat performance and the Rays are looking to make it three in a row over the Rangers. The MLB odds favored the Rays to win this series but the game five odds are much closer.

The MLB playoff odds for game five have the Rays as small -115 favorites. The comeback on the Rangers is -105. The game total is set at 6½ runs.

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MLB Playoff Odds

October 12, 2010

Texas Rangers +1½ -210 -105

Cliff Lee –L

Tampa Bay Rays -1½ +175 -115

David Price – L

Game Total 6½

Location: Tropicana Field – Tampa Bay FL

Game Time: 8:05pm

TV: TBS

In their first meeting Cliff Lee was masterful, as he allowed 1 earned run, five hits, no walks and struck out 10 batters in 7 innings.

David Price didn’t look his usual self as he allowed 9 hits, five runs, four earned and struck out 8 in 6.2 innings of work.

The Rangers won game one 5-1.

The Rays were one of the best hitting teams in the major league this season but in the first two games of the series, the Rangers batters held them to a single run. Those bats came alive in games three and four with the Rays scoring 6 and 5 respectively.

The turnaround at the plate for the Rays is the reason they are still in this series. Though the fifth inning of game three, the Rays were 10 for 81 (.123 BA). Since then Tampa Bay has hit .362 with four homeruns.

Neither team has won in their home ballpark in the series but that shouldn’t rattle the Rays as they were exceptional at home all season finishing with a 49-32 regular season home record.

Both starters are no strangers to high pressure starts. Cliff Lee is 5-0 with a 1.52 ERA in six postseason starts. All his starts came last season with Philadelphia, despite the Phillies loss to the Yankees in the World Series, Lee won both his starts against the Yanks.

Game one was the first postseason start of David Price’s career but he felt the pressure in the Rays 2008 World Series loss to the Phillies. Price made 5 appearances striking out 8 batters, giving up one earned run in 5.2 innings.

Looking at the trends for this game, the Rangers are on a road hot streak as they are 6-0 in their past 6 games as a road underdog. The Rangers are 4-1 in the past five games started by Cliff Lee.

The Rays trends aren’t as promising as they are 0-5 in their past five starts against a left hander and just 1-5 in their last six home games overall.

When the MLB betting odds were posted last week, I picked the Rangers to win this series in five games. I even predicted it would come down to the ninth inning. I’m going to stick with my original prediction and say the Rangers take this game in a tight game.

MLB Playoff Betting Pick: Texas Rangers -105