The Rangers took Game 1 4-0 to grab an early lead in the series over the Rays on Tuesday.
We also went 2-1 on our prop bets as Jordan Montgomery pitched seven shutout innings and Evan Carter went 2-for-2 with a run scored. Marcus Semien came up one short on the Hits + Runs + Runs Batted In combo bet.
Today Nathan Eovaldi gets the ball as the Rangers look to sweep the series and head to Baltimore. On the other hand, Zach Eflin will look to help the Rays force a Game 3. To do that, setting Corey Seager down won't be easy for him.
Find my Rangers vs. Rays Game 2 player prop bets below.
Rangers vs. Rays Game 2 Props
This season, Nathan Eovaldi earned the second All-Star appearance of his career. He was in AL Cy Young contention and struck out at least four batters in his first 17 starts of the season.
After pitching six shutout innings against the Rays on July 18th, Eovaldi went on the IL with a 2.69 ERA. He returned in September but posted a 9.30 ERA in six starts, ending the season with a 3.63 ERA.
If Eovaldi's struggles continue, his earned line (over 2.5 runs at +130) is of interest. However, it is tough to confidently back the Rays to score three runs in likely five innings when they have scored just two in their last 32 innings of postseason baseball.
Consequently, I am pivoting to Eovaldi's strikeouts, which may be favorable in light of his rough September.
Eovaldi averaged 5.3 strikeouts per start in the regular season. Despite giving up 12 runs in 8 and 1/3 innings in his final two starts against the Mariners, Eovaldi struck at least five in both starts and tallied 11 strikeouts.
He went over this line in one of his two starts against the Rays this season when he punched out six in Tampa in June. Eovaldi also spent the last four and a half years in the AL East with the Red Sox after beginning 2018 with the Rays.
Since then, he has struck out four batters in 11 of 12 starts against his former team. With four to five innings today, I expect him to get four strikeouts once again.
Corey Seager played in 119 games this year, and once he qualified in at-bats, he had a firm grasp of the AL Batting Title for much of the season. But after hitting .277 in September and closing out year 1-for-10 in Seattle, Seager finished second in batting average at .327 behind Tampa's Yandy Diaz.
While getting the win was Seager's first priority, it was almost like Seager knew that Diaz had stolen the batting crown from him.
In Game 1, Seager went 2-for-4 with a double, a run scored and a run batted in. He had entered 1-for-5 with two strikeouts against Tyler Glasnow.
However, Seager has fared much better in his career against Zach Eflin. Against the right-hander, Seager is 3-for-7 (.429) with a double, a home run and a 1.500 OPS.
This season, Seager hit .333 with 64 runs scored, 29 doubles, 26 home runs and 71 runs batted in against right-handed pitching. He also hit .355 in day games, which held up in yesterday's game. Seager has hit this line in 61% of games this season and against the Rays (8-for-13) over the last two seasons.
Batting second, Seager is in prime position for five appearances, which will give him more chances to hit his line. However, he may cash it early again today.
Pick: Corey Seager Over 1.5 Hits + Runs + Runs Batted In
