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Nolan Writin Predictions for the Texas Rangers and Tampa Bay Rays Wild Card Series

The series kicks off Tuesday afternoon and all of our writers are here to offer up their predictions on how we think the series is going to go.

By Michael Sanders , Brian Sweet , Lorenzo Almanza , Stephen Francis , West Jones |
Texas Rangers v Seattle Mariners
Texas Rangers v Seattle Mariners / Steph Chambers/GettyImages
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The Texas Rangers get their playoff run started on Tuesday afternoon against the Tampa Bay Rays is what is hopefully a successful series for the Texas Rangers. On our site we have broken down what will be four key matchups to watch in this series and provided some perspective for fans as the playoffs get underway. Now we wanted to give you our predictions for what we believe will happen in this series. You will see predictions from our site experts and contributors.

Stephen Francis

As for a prediction, I believe the winner of game one will take this series. Tampa has announced their first two starters and Tyler Glasnow will take the ball for game one and Zach Eflin will pitch in game two. Glasnow fared very well against this Texas team back in June, allowing just one run on one hit over six innings thanks to a long ball from rookie Josh Jung.

Eflin on the other hand hasn’t faced the Rangers this season. In his one career start against the team, he lost and lasted just four innings, allowing seven runs. For Texas, we know Jordan Montgomery will step to the hill for the opener. Monty hasn’t faced the Rays as a Ranger, but last fared decently against them in June of 2022 for the New York Yankees.

As hard as it is to say, I see Tampa taking a close game one with Texas coming alive in game two. Game three will go to extras, and we all know this team’s track record in extras. They will fall on the road, two games to one. I’d love to be wrong, but this is the gut feeling. 

Prediction: Tampa wins 2-1

Jesse DeTienne's Prediction

This playoff series is being predicated on the fact the Texas Rangers and the Tampa Bay Rays have the top two offenses in the American League this series in batting average (Rangers-.263, Rays-.260) and runs (Rangers-881, Rays-860). But the deciding factor will be the pitching of the two squads.

Jordan Montgomery(4-2 2.79) is1-0 with a 0.90 ERA in his last three starts, this could bode well for the Rangers. Montgomery also has a 1.35 ERA in the postseason. The issue is the bullpen. 

If the starters for the Rangers can pitch quality innings and provide relief from the bullpen with the bats excelling the Rangers can pull out a series win(.299 BA in wins this season).

My X-factor for the lineup is Leody Taveras. His 48 extra-base hits are fourth all-time by a centerfielder in Texas Rangers history. 

Rangers in three.

Why? They're 5-0 in Tropicana Field in the playoffs. They have not suffered a loss and with a potential rotation shake up and one starter getting relief innings, look for the Rangers to continue their success against the Rays in the postseason.

Series MVP will be 2B Marcus Semien. With Rangers fans looking at SS Corey Seager to continue his MVP-caliber season with his postseason experience, this will allow Semien to come in and provide quality at-bats. 

Prediction: Texas wins 2-1

Brian Sweet

After a 162 games, the Texas Rangers crossed the finish line and made the playoffs for the first time since 2016. It has been a drama filled season as the Rangers dealt with injuries after injuries and somehow still made the American League Wildcard round. They will be going up against the Tampa Bay Rays starting Tuesday at Tropicana Field. You would think that the Rangers have it in the bag having the number one offense in the American League right? I’m very concerned going into this matchup against the Rays and you should be as well.

The Rangers will be going into this series without their two CY-Young pitchers Max Scherzer and Jacob DeGrom and also without starting pitcher Jon Gray. More than likely, the Rangers will have a starting rotation that consists of Jordan Montgomery, Nathan Eovaldi, and Dane Dunning or Andrew Heaney. They also have one of the most inconsistent bullpens in the league this season.  They have blown 33 saves this season which is the most in the major leagues. I really want to predict the Rangers winning the series but with the injuries to the starting rotation and the inconsistent bullpen, I don’t know if it will be enough to beat the Rays and advance to the ALDS.

Prediction: Tampa Bay in 3

Lorenzo Almanza

We couldn't have asked for a better matchup between the Texas Rangers and the Tampa Bay Rays. This will be an exciting series, as both groups are the top-hitting teams in the American League. Texas knocked in 881 runs this season, as the Rays trailed behind them with 860. 

Ultimately, this series will go all three games, with Texas coming out on top. The resilience and fight of the Rangers' pitching staff will do just enough to help the team scrap. The Rangers' pitching faired well in the last two games against the Seattle Mariners, as they allowed two runs. 

All-Star Corey Seager will be the difference maker, as he will be the series MVP. He has played well against the Rays this season, and this trend should continue heading to the postseason. 

This should be an exciting series with a ton of firepower from both teams. 

Prediction: Texas in 3

West Jones

I am not going to beat around the bush, I see the Texas Rangers taking this series against the Tampa Bay Rays. Despite the Rays having the best home record in the American League (tied with the Los Angeles Dodgers) this season at 53-28, the Rangers are going to go into St. Pete and take care of business. Now will the series be over in two games, no way. Why would we think that this Rangers club would let us off the rollercoaster that easily?

After taking game one of the series, the Rangers will drop game two, setting up a win or go home for Thursday. The offense will shine, and Texas will take the deciding game by a score of 8 to 3. Corey Seager will be the series MVP against Tampa Bay, just like he was in 2020 against them in the World Series that was held in Arlington. 

This Rangers team is heading into the playoffs with a chip on their shoulder and wants to prove that they belong. They will parlay the bad taste in their mouth from dropping game 162, and thus the AL West, into a series victory over the slightly favored Rays.

Prediction: Texas in 3

Michael Sanders

I guess it wouldn't be a postseason series for Texas if they were not taking on Tampa Bay, Toronto, or New York as Texas has faced each of those teams in two or more series over the years. This time it is Tampa that Texas will be taking on. They will be renewing their early 2010's rivalry. Those last playoff series were dominated by such players as Josh Hamilton, Adrian Beltre, Evan Longoria, and David Price. This series the names to know will be Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, Randy Arozarena, and Tyler Glasnow.

Tampa was the better team in the regular season, but both teams have bullpen issues. If Texas is going to win they are going to need to score runs early and establish leads and then hope the bullpen can close it out. I think the MVP for the Rangers in this series will be Corey Seager. I believe he will come through with a multiple hits in both games and help carry this team to the series win.

My prediction is I believe Texas will win this series in two games. Texas has answered the bell against every good team they have played since the middle of September. They swept Toronto at the Skydome. They swept Seattle in Arlington. They won series against the Red Sox and Angels that helped get them to this point. They did not fare as well against Seattle to close the season, but overall they played very well down the stretch.

Texas will score runs in the early innings, take the crowd out of the game, and then use a combination of former starters and power right-handed arms to close out both games. It will be tense, it will be nerve wracking, and in the end Texas will win their first playoff series since beating Detroit in the 2011 American League Championship Series.

Prediction: Texas in 2

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