This article is part of our MLB Picks series.
It was an eventful Saturday for the first games of the Division Series in the MLB Playoffs. Three of the four games featured some big upsets. Sunday is a little lighter, with only two contests on the board, but there's some opportunities to cash some tickets.
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Texas Rangers (+102) @ Baltimore Orioles (-120) | Over/Under 8
What a game it was yesterday. A 3-2 edge by the Rangers put them in a great position to go back to Texas up 2-0 in the series. They barely made it into the dance but have started to heat up in the postseason, making them an extremely tough out. This series has the makings of going five games, but let's see who takes care of business today.
If you're the Orioles, you have to be sick about your game on Saturday. In the bottom of the eighth inning, they had men on first and second with nobody out, facing Aroldis Chapman. Anthony Santander had a chance to not only tie the game, but inflict damage. Instead, he grounds into a double play, and the O's end up getting nothing. That was the swing of the game. The Orioles had a lot of chances in Game 1, but they couldn't punch through despite opportunity after opportunity. If that happens again on Sunday, they might as well not even show up for Game 3.
Rookie Grayson Rodriguez will get the ball in the biggest game of the season for his team. There were some early season struggles for G-Rod, but the kid has been locked in since August started. Only allowing 16 earned runs over his last 10 starts (59.2 IP), it seems like the youngster is ready for his first big moment of his career. An early weakness for the kid was the longball, giving up 16 on the year. However over his last 13 starts, he's only surrendered three taters. That's big news against a Texas lineup full of boppers that had the third most homers in the MLB this year (233). If that stays in check, the other main area of concern for Rodriguez is the free passes. 42 walks in 122 innings is a tad high, and against a team that walked the third most (599), it's definitely an area to be mindful about. There are too many Rangers in this lineup to highlight, but the rookies Josh Jung and Evan Carter have been big difference makers so far.
On the other side of the hill, it's Jordan Montgomery. It's hard to find a hotter and more locked in pitcher over the last month than this guy. Ever since he got touched up in back-to-back outings against the Twins and A's for 11 runs, J-Mont has been dialed in. In his last five starts, Montgomery has not only logged a quality start in each of them, but he's only allowed two earned runs. That's only two earned runs (and five walks) in his last 34 innings. To make it even more difficult, he has pitched to a 2.73 ERA on the road compared to a 3.61 at home. The O's need to work his pitch count up and get Montgomery out after five innings.
I'm expecting another tight game here. Rodriguez has to try and match Montgomery today. If Baltimore can do that, I like them to make one more play today and pull out the victory. This is virtually a must win for Balty, so let's ride them one more time.
Pick: Orioles moneyline (-118 at FanDuel)
