The Texas Rangers face off against the Detroit Tigers tonight in the first game of a three game series between two teams that wish their season has gone better. It is always dangerous to bet on teams with no motivation, but this late in the season you don’t really have much choice with the playoff field getting thinner and thinner. These players also have jobs to play for next season, and they’re competitors so they won’t just mail it in. The Rangers won a series on the road against the Twins then split a series in Colorado. They have been playing better lately, although the Tigers have also been playing better. They split a series against the Giants, then won a series at home against the Angels, and split a road series against the Guardians. They had lost seven straight games before that though.
Glen Otto is starting for the Rangers, and he has been pitching really well lately. He has seriously struggled with walks, so that worries me, but it seems like it’s also been helping him minimize scoring. He has a 1.99 ERA in August in four starts after going 0-4 with a 5.76 ERA in July. Tyler Alexander is starting for the Tigers, and he has also been pitching very well since being inserted back into the starting rotation. He is similar to Otto lately though in the sense that they both have low strikeout numbers and high walk numbers. I think it could be a good pitching matchup and the game could be close for the first half. However, it is in the bullpens and lineups where the Rangers have their big advantage.