Rangers ready for Rays in postseason rematch from Texas' World Series run

After winning their first series of the year against the Cubs, the Rangers are looking to keep their success going when they face the Tampa Bay Rays, their wild-card opponent from last fall's postseason. It will be a three-game series at Tropicana Field the first time the Rangers go on the road this season.

Throughout last season, the Rangers and Rays among the two heavyweights of the AL, with both teams leaps and bounds above others on the offensive side of things. They were neck-and-neck in several offensive categories, even though the Rangers had the edge in most, including total runs scored and total hits.

Both teams finished their season-opening series on Sunday and performed well overall. The Rays faced off against the division-rivals Toronto Blue Jays in a four-game series and ended up splitting. Tampa's offense didn't exactly blow the doors off the competition, but the unit definitely looked ready for the start of the season. Same goes for the Rangers.

Both teams are looking to keep their high-powered offenses rolling into the new season while their new-look starting rotations hope to keep opposing bats at bay.

Dane Dunning will open the series with Andrew Heaney and Nathan Eovaldi set for the two following games. Heaney and Dunning will be making their season debuts, while Eovaldi, the Rangers Opening Day starter, will be looking for his first win after getting a no-decision on Opening Day. Heaney, Eovaldi, and Dunning were all significant contributors to the Rangers' success last season.

The three scheduled starters for the Rays will be Ryan Pepiot, Zach Eflin, and Aaron Civale. This will be the newly-acquired Pepiot's debut game with the Rays after being acquired from the Dodgers in the offseason. Civale is coming off a dominant performance against the Blue Jays, only giving up one run through six innings. Elfin will be looking to rebound after getting rocked on Opening Day.

Like the Rangers, the Rays are somewhat limited in the rotation this year, especially after trading their former ace Tyler Glasnow to LA in the deal that included Pepiot. The absence of Glasnow will force pitchers like Civale and Eflin to step up, especially if the Rays want to remain contenders throughout the season.

Expect a hard-fought series as the Rays look to get light revenge for the Rangers' postseason trimph back in October.