Rays vs Rangers | Preview, Odds & Pick

2010 ALDS Game 1 Preview

vs.

Tampa Bay Rays (96-66) vs. Texas Rangers (90-72)
Wednesday 1:30 PM ET on TBS

Starting Pitchers
TEX: Cliff Lee (12-9) 3.18
TB: David Price (19-6), 2.72

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The Rays took it down to the wire and won the Al East Championship on the last day of the season, leaving the Yankees to play as a wildcard this season. They face off against the Texas Rangers on Wednesday. Both teams are quite similar, relying on speed to keep the tension on the opposing pitching staff, and feature strong bullpens capable of closing a game without giving up any more runs.

Taking the mound in game one for Tampa Bay will be David Price, who is coming off a breakout season where he learned to use his slider effectively and live up to the potential that made him the number one pick a few years ago. It all added up to 19 wins and a 2.87 era, which puts him into the CY Young conversation. He was strong down the stretch, pitching 62 innings in his last nine starts, allowing 48 hits and 17 runs for a 2.47 era. He is 0-2 with a 7.45 era for his career against Texas though.

The Rays offense is led by Carl Crawford, who is a free agent after this season and not expected to resign with the team. That gives him a lot of reason to look like “a gamer” while showcasing for the big market (Yankees) teams. He stole 47 bases this year while hitting 19 homers, with 110 runs scored and 90 RBI’s.

Third baseman Evan Longoria is the number four hitter and most consistent power threat, but is coming off a down season that saw him hit only 22 long balls. That’s partly to blame on a late season quad injury, which sapped some power. He looks to be ready for the playoffs, but with a slugging percentage of .465 in September, it’s doubtful he will be hitting the ball deep. The rest of the lineup doesn’t hit for a high average, Carlos Pena can hit for power, with 28 homers, but failed to reach the Mendoza Line. Speedster BJ Upton stole 42 bases but hit .237 this year.

Taking the mound for Texas will be Cliff Lee, who came over from Seattle in a mid season trade and has proved himself last season in the postseason as a Philly, with a 4-0 record in 40 1/3 innings. He only allowed 27 hits while striking out 33. Lee pitches to contact and he only walked 18 in 212 innings this year. For his career, he is 6-5 with a 2.87 era against Tampa Bay.

The Rangers offense scored the fourth most runs in the American League and is very capable of hitting the long ball and getting on base. Elvis Andrus leads off with his 32 steals.

Free Agent pick up Vlad Guerrero proved he still had something left in the tank when Anaheim let him go last year, hitting 29 homers and driving in 115 runs. While everyone thought it was Vlad that would breakdown, it was the rest of the lineup that did. Ian Kinsler paid the DL a few trips managing less than 400 AB’s; Nelson Cruz managed 22 homeruns with a few trips to the list, while the heart of the Rangers, Josh Hamilton has been down for the past month with a rib cage injury. He says he is ready to go but may be a bit rusty. The injury cost him what might have been an MVP after hitting .359 with 32 homeruns and 100 RBI’s in 518 at bats.

Prediction: Tampa Bay – They Rays has showed it loves to play under pressure, and David Price had a phenomenal year but the offense isn’t there for Tampa Bay. Cliff Lee has become Mr. Post Season, and even if the offense hobbles along, he will not need much to win this one for Texas.

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