Will texas bounce back?
The Rangers are starting right where they left off. The 2023 World Series winners are 2-1 with an OPS of .891 in the first 3 games. Being discipline at the plate and drawing 14 walks already is a huge factor for their early success. While Adolis Garcia is already making a statement with a couple of homeruns this year. They’ll have Dane Dunning starting on the mound for them tomorrow. Coming off a really good 2023 campaign, with a 12-7 record and a 3.70 ERA. The one start he had against the Rays he gave up 2 runs in seven innings, classifying it as a quality start.
Tampa bay’s warming up
The Rays come into this game even after splitting the series against the Blue Jays at home, where they’ll continue to play this next series. One major move the Rays had this off-season was trading Tyler Glasnow and Manuel Margot for Ryan Pepiot. This is who will be on the mound for the Rays Monday, looking to prove something to a new team. He pitched in 42 innings last year, had an ERA of 2.14 with 38 strikeouts. Despite not having many innings under his belt he did have some good numbers that you can’t look past.
prediction
This should be a pretty competitive series between two very similar teams. The biggest difference between these two teams in this game will be the pitching matchup. The Rangers know what to expect from Dunning on the road here. For the Rays and Pepiot, they might have a challenge on their hands in this one. I think the inexperience from Pepiot opposed to Dunning will be a factor in the outcome of this game. The Rangers have showcased the bats early on and are looking to bounce back on Monday. Give me the defending champs as an underdog.
Rangers ML +105