2023 MLB World Series: Rangers vs Diamondbacks Game 5 Odds
The Rangers Have Been The Oldest MLB Team to Never Win the World Series
The Texas Rangers are one win away from winning the 2023 MLB World Series.
The Rangers split the first two games with the Arizona Diamondbacks to start the World Series at home.
In Games 3 and 4 on the road, the Rangers have won. Now they’re just one more win from earning a World Series Championship after last night’s 11-7 win over the Diamondbacks.
Heading into Game 5, the Rangers are slight favorites at -115. Meanwhile, the Diamondbacks are +105 to force Game 6 in Texas on Friday. Meanwhile, the total is 8.5 with two aces on the mound, with the Over juiced to -115.
The Rangers are also -1700 when looking at the odds of winning the World Series, needing just one more win to become world champions.
Has Arizona run out of gas?
Let’s look at the Rangers vs Diamondbacks Game 5 odds in the World Series.
Texas Rangers vs Arizona Diamondbacks 
Day/Time:
Location: Chase Field, Phoenix, Arizona
Streaming: FOX
Line: Rangers -115 / Diamondbacks +105
Total: 8.5
Adolis Garcia, Max Scherzer No Longer On The Roster
The Game 3 win for the Rangers came with a price.
The Rangers defeated the Diamondbacks, 3-1, on Monday. However, their most consistent slugger, Adolis Garcia, had to leave the game due to left-side tightness. It was later found out that Garcia had a strained oblique.
Before last night’s Game 4, the Rangers removed Garcia from the roster and added 24-year-old Ezequiel Duran to the roster.
Duran was added to have more depth on the bench. However, Travis Jankowski got the start in the outfield. With the start, Jankowski had a multi-hit game with multiple RBIs. Jankowski got the call and became Adolis Garcia overnight!
Meanwhile, Max Scherzer was injured early in his Game 3 start with a back injury. The Rangers decided that they’d remove him from the roster. That likely means Jon Gray would get the start for Game 7 if needed.
Arizona Facing Elimination
The Arizona Diamondbacks have faced elimination before.
The Diamondbacks trailed the Phillies 3-2 in the NLCS but earned back-to-back wins on the road to move on into the World Series.
The Diamondbacks can’t be counted out. But after choosing to ride out its bullpen for Game 4, the Diamondbacks no longer look like a contender for the World Series.
A team that uses bullpen games in the World Series probably doesn’t deserve to win. The choice to use a bullpen game in the World Series backfired severely, with the Diamondbacks allowing double-digit runs.
Luckily for Arizona, they’ll have Zac Gallen for Game 5, and if necessary, Merrill Kelly for Game 6, and Brandon Pfaadt for Game 7. They won’t have to worry about another bullpen game. But it truly felt like Arizona was conceding a World Series game by electing to have a bullpen game in the World Series.
Below, we’ll review the Rangers vs Diamondbacks Game 5 odds.
âš¾ Game 5 âš¾
Wednesday, 8:03 p.m. ET
Nathan Eovaldi vs. Zac Gallen
Can Eovaldi Finish Undefeated in the Playoffs?
The Texas Rangers will send out Nathan Eovaldi for Game 5 of the World Series with the chance to become World Champions.
Eovaldi has thrown 30.2 innings and has started in five games. He’s allowed a 3.52 ERA in those five games and has a 4-0 record. However, the one game where Eovaldi didn’t register the win was against Arizona in Game 1 of the World Series.
In that game, he allowed five runs on six hits and couldn’t even finish five innings. The veteran righty still struck out eight and walked one, but he struggled for the first time in the playoffs in Game 1.
In the last 30 days, Eovaldi has still struck out 28.8% of batters. He’s also earned over 48% of ground balls and has given up only 18.1% of fly balls. He’s been excellent throughout the postseason.
His Game 1 start against the Diamondbacks was also a bit flukey. Eovaldi earned nine ground balls and gave up four fly balls against 22 batters. He also struck out eight and walked one while allowing one home run. He wasn’t nearly as bad as the box score suggests.
The Arizona lineup has struck out over 27% of the time against righties in the last 30 days. While Ketel Marte, Corbin Carroll, Alek Thomas, and Geraldo Perdomo have been hot at the plate, a lot of the lineup has struggled to contact the ball. That was apparent in Game 1 of the World Series when Eovaldi earned eight strikeouts without even getting through five innings.
Zac Gallen outpitched Eovaldi in Game 1 of the World Series. However, the Rangers earned a 6-5 win to keep Eovaldi away from earning a loss on his record.
Will Zac Gallen Be Inconsistent in Game 5?
As acknowledged, Zac Gallen pitched better than Nathan Eovaldi in Game 1 of the World Series. Arizona will need him to do the same in a must-win Game 5.
Gallen allowed three runs on four hits. He also walked four while striking out five in five innings for the Diamondbacks in his Game 1 World Series start.
The right-hander has thrown at least five innings in all five starts in the playoffs while throwing 27.1 innings in the postseason. However, he’s also walked at least two batters in each start and hasn’t earned more than four strikeouts in any other start before that World Series Game 1.
Gallen has a 5.27 ERA in the postseason and has allowed 50 fly balls with only 36 ground balls induced. He’s struggled badly against lefties and has struck out only 15.3% of batters in the last 30 days.
He’s also given up 35.9% of fly balls to lefties while allowing 25.6% of line drives to lefties.
Therefore, lefties like Corey Seager, Evan Carter, Nathaniel Lowe, and even Travis Jankowski have an advantage against Gallen in this game.
The Diamondbacks have gotten through the gauntlet in the MLB playoff bracket to make the World Series. But their time is running out. When looking at the Rangers vs Diamondbacks Game 5 odds, we’ll back the Rangers (-115) and the Over 8.5 (-115) as our two MLB lines.
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