Orioles vs. Rangers odds opened with top-seeded Baltimore favored to advance out of the ALDS and into the ALCS. However, within a short time, the price moved to a coin flip.
The Orioles clinched the top spot in the AL playoff field on their way to winning the American League East division. The Rangers lost out in a grueling race for AL West supremacy to find themselves in the Wild Card Round, but quickly dispatched of the Rays in a 2-0 sweep.
The Orioles, who will host Games 1, 2, and potentially 5, opened as -122 favorites to advance to the ALCS at FanDuel. The road Rangers were +100 underdogs. As of this writing, the line is now -110 for both teams.
Below, you'll find the full schedule for this series, as well as a breakdown of both teams and how they got to this point.
All odds cited below via FanDuel, which you can pair with our FanDuel promo code for bonus bets. For updated odds on every series throughout the postseason, be sure to visit our MLB futures page. For individual game odds throughout the postseason at a variety of sportsbooks, visit our MLB odds page.
Rangers vs. Orioles ALDS Schedule
- Game 1: Saturday, Oct. 7, 1 p.m. ET, FS1
- Game 2: Sunday, October 8, 4 p.m. ET, FS1
- Game 3: Tuesday, October 10, 8 p.m. ET, FOX
- Game 4: Wednesday, October 11, Time TBD, FOX/FS1 (if necessary)
- Game 5: Friday, October 13, TBD, FOX/FS1 (if necessary)
Texas Rangers
- World Series Odds: +900
- Pennant Odds: +330
- Regular Season Record: 90-72
- Team wRC+ (Rank): 115 (4th)
- Starting Pitching xFIP (Rank): 4.36 (19th)
- Bullpen xFIP (Rank): 4.43 (22nd)
How They Got Here
After a headline-stealing offseason in which the Rangers spent a ton of money to try and put a contender on the field, Texas got off to a fast start. The Rangers led the AL West from April 9 to August 26. They lost ground to the Astros after that, but reclaimed first place in late September before dropping the title on the final day of the season.
The Rangers also finished third in Isolated Power and hit fly balls at the second-highest frequency, plenty of which turn into home runs at the hitter-friendly Globe Life Field.
In the American League Wild Card Round, the Rangers beat the Rays 2-0.
Offense
Texas finished top five in wRC+ for the first time since 2012, a stunning turnaround after finishing 20th in that same category a season ago.
The Rangers’ offense has been well disciplined and sits in the top five in walk rate while maintaining average strikeout numbers.
Just about everyone in this offense has hit, and while you’re likely familiar with Corey Seager and Marcus Semien, you’ll also want to pay attention to catcher Jonah Heim and rookie Josh Jung. The former has been a pleasant surprise, swatting 18 home runs to go along with a .260 average, while the latter made his first All-Star appearance this season and posted a 111 OPS+.
Rotation
Both Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer are on the shelf with injuries. deGrom is rehabbing from Tommy John surgery and won’t be seen until next year, but there’s a chance Scherzer, who injured his shoulder this summer, will make it back for the playoffs.
Luckily, Jordan Montgomery has transformed into an excellent pitcher since coming over in a trade with the Cardinals. He owns a 2.79 ERA in 11 starts for Texas and will enter the postseason as the Rangers’ most trustworthy arm.
Nathan Eovaldi has taken a bit of a step back this season, but should still be a reliable option come October, and while Jon Gray hasn’t been great, he’s pitched to more contact this year, which has helped considering the Rangers rate very well on defense. There’s a chance we also see Dane Dunning make some starts this postseason after he posted an impressive 3.72 ERA during the regular season.
Bullpen
Aroldis Chapman regained some of his magic in a Royals uniform this season, but since coming over via trade, he’s posted a brutal 3.72 ERA in 29 innings. The bullpen is what’s going to ultimately hold this team back as Chapman has been of little use and the Rangers ranked 20th in bullpen ERA this season.
Starters such as Dunning, Cody Bradford, Andrew Heaney and Martin Perez will be pulled into helping this struggling stable in October, but given how all three have pitched, it’s looking pretty bleak. Jose Leclerc has been excellent and should take most of the high-leverage work, and perhaps the experienced Will Smith will rebound after a tough regular season. Time will tell.
—Kenny Ducey
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Baltimore Orioles
- World Series Odds: +700
- Pennant Odds: +270
- Regular Season Record: 101-61
- Team wRC+ (Rank): 105 (11th)
- Starting Pitching xFIP (Rank): 4.17 (11th)
- Bullpen xFIP (Rank): 3.94 (2nd)
How They Got Here
The Baltimore Orioles have battled their way to a postseason berth on the back of a great bullpen, a durable rotation and a young, talented core. The Orioles made their way through perhaps the toughest division in baseball and came out on top.
Offense
This team has been solid throughout the season. The addition of Aaron Hicks has paid dividends, especially when Baltimore temporarily lost Cedric Mullins to the Injured List. Ryan O’Hearn has been one of the better hitters on the team and Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson, Anthony Santander have been in the organization for some time. This is a cohesive group and a deep lineup. Baltimore may not have the big names, but the Orioles can certainly hit.
Rotation
The rotation is slightly above league average and probably the weakest segment of this team. That said, they rank in the top-10 in innings pitched from the starter role. Kyle Gibson, Dean Kremer and Kyle Bradish have all pitched over 150 innings this season. Grayson Rodriguez should also factor in heavily to their postseason plans.
Bullpen
The rotation’s grit helps lead to the strong back-end of the bullpen, although it was weakened recently by the loss of Felix Bautista. Yennier Cano is somewhat of a surprise and has a 2.17 ERA. His walk rate is exceptionally low, but after not finding his way until this season, he turned into an All-Star.
The Orioles have been doing fine without Bautista, but it's obviously a huge loss and the Orioles will need to patch things up if they want to make a deep postseason run and contend for their first World Series since 1983. Expect to see a lot of Cionel Perez and Tyler Wells, too.
—D.J. James
