Baseball’s best road warriors went home and lost Game 3 of the World Series. The Arizona Diamondbacks fell 3-1 to the Texas Rangers and now find themselves trailing 2-1 in the series.
Looking ahead to World Series Game 4 odds, the Rangers () are slight road favorites against the Diamondbacks ().
Texas is two wins away from winning their first World Series title in franchise history. The team — added to the American League in 1961 — is the oldest MLB club without a championship banner. According to Caesars Sportsbook, the Rangers (-300) are favored to win the title, and the Diamondbacks (+240) come back as underdogs. At -300, Texas has a 75% implied probability of winning the 2023 World Series.
World Series Game 4 Odds: Rangers vs. Diamondbacks
Game 3 Recap: Rangers shut down pesky D’backs offense
Max Scherzer started, but Jon Gray was the story for the Rangers pitching staff in Game 3. Mad Max only recorded nine outs before begging out of the game with back pain. But what might have been a real pain in the butt for Bruce Bochy ended up as a blessing: Gray tossed three shutout innings while allowing only one hit to maintain a 3-0 lead. The Rangers failed to add to their total, but they didn’t need it. Three relievers followed Gray, and Texas took the lead in the World Series after a 3-1 win.
The most disappointing player for the D’backs this postseason has been Christian Walker, who is hitting .178 with one home run. In Game 3, it wasn’t holes in Walker’s bat that were frustrating; it was his baserunning. During a second-inning rally, Walker ran with his head down and missed a stop sign from the third base coach. The result was a dreadful tag out at home, effectively drowning any fire the Diamondbacks had lit that inning.
Too much shouldn’t be made of the Game 3 loss. The Diamondbacks were only one well-placed hit (or good piece of baserunning) away from winning on Monday evening. This series is still too close to call, and the next two games will be played in Phoenix.
Game 4 Pitching Matchup
Andrew Heaney (0-0, 6.00 ERA, 1 K) vs. Joe Mantiply (2-0, 4.26 ERA, 5 K)
Game 4 is a bullpen game for the Rangers, with Andrew Heaney playing the role of “Reliever No. 1” on your scorecard. Heaney has only faced three batters in this series and six overall in the last 12 days. He hasn’t pitched more than one inning since Oct. 7, so don’t count on Heaney to go too long in Game 4. Dane Dunning, Will Smith, Martín Pérez, and closer José Leclerc will all be available for service, so Bruce Bochy will have plenty of arms to get his team through the 27 outs needed for a win.
Joe Mantiply will be the opener for the Diamondbacks, who will also be emptying their bullpen for Game 4. No need to even look at pitcher props bets for this game, as Mantiply won’t be around long. This is how things are now: gone are the days of pitcher duels in PS games. Instead, we’ll get a merry-go-round of one-inning pitchers.
Game 4 Prediction
With so many pitchers likely to trod the mound at Chase Field, this World Series game will likely be decided in favor of the team whose pitchers make the fewest mistakes. As we’ve also seen in the Fall Classic, defense will be important. The Rangers are getting marvelous defense from their infield. In Game 3, Texas turned two superb double plays and an assist from Adolis Garcia to home plate.
The defense and home run power push this series in favor of the Rangers, and we like them to win Game 4. A certain someone will also be an excellent play for your World Series prop bet. More on that below.
World Series Same-Game Parlay
This World Series same-game parlay has odds of +767 from BetMGM.
- Adolis Garcia To Hit a Home Run
- Rangers To Win
World Series Broadcast Schedule
- Game 1: Texas 6, Arizona 5
- Game 2: Arizona 9, Texas 1
- Game 3: Texas 3, Arizona 1
- Game 4: Texas at Arizona, Oct. 31, 8:03 PM ET, FOX
- Game 5:* Texas at Arizona, Nov. 1, 8:03 PM ET, FOX
- Game 6:* Arizona at Texas, Nov. 3, 8:03 PM ET, FOX
- Game 7:* Arizona at Texas, Nov. 4, 8:03 PM ET, FOX
* Played if necessary
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