Top MLB Pick: Diamondbacks ML (-105) at Heritage Sports (visit our Heritage Sports Review)
Facing a 2-1 deficit to the Rangers in the World Series, the Diamondbacks are turning things over to their bullpen in Game 4 that finds tight moneylines on the MLB odds board.
Texas Rangers vs. Arizona Diamondbacks
Tuesday, October 31, 2023 – 08:03 PM EDT at Chase Field
For one team or the other, things could get scary Tuesday night when the Texas Rangers and Arizona Diamondbacks take the field for Game 4 of the World Series.
Texas went up 2-1 in the Fall Classic with a 3-1 win in Game 3, leaving the Rangers a perfect 9-0 this postseason on the road. For the Rangers, the scary part is if they have to take the field without their postseason hero Adolis Garcia due to an injury suffered Monday.
Arizona has been playing with house money the entire playoffs, and has proven to be the little engine that could. But the Diamondbacks can ill-afford to go down 3-1 to the Rangers, making Tuesday night a must-win.
Bullpen Match for the Snakes
The fourth installment of this year’s World Series will find a couple of lefthanders on the mound to begin the contest, Andrew Heaney (10-6, 4.22) for Texas and Joe Mantiply (4-2, 4.56) for Arizona. It will be a short-lived experience for Mantiply as the Diamondbacks roll with a bullpen game one evening after using four relievers to get the final 11 outs.
The top sportsbooks see it as a close affair, some of them leaning ever so slightly towards the Diamondbacks while many have it as a pick ‘em. After Game 3 was a comfortable ‘under’ winner, Tuesday’s total has been pushed up half a notch to 9½, most shops laying a little extra juice on the ‘under.’
How Many Innings Can Heaney Give Rangers?
Bruce Bochy actually had to dip into the Texas bullpen earlier than Arizona’s Torey Lovullo did on Monday. That was due to Rangers starter Max Scherzer, who closed as the slight favorite on the MLB odds, being forced from the game in the fourth inning due to back spasms.
Jon Gray did a great job with three scoreless innings in relief of Scherzer. That shortens the relief corps on Tuesday, and Bochy would love to get 5+ innings from Heaney.
Heaney appeared Saturday in Game 2, getting two outs on an efficient six pitches. He worked at least 5 innings in 18 of his 28 regular season starts, but hasn’t gone that long since late August.
The Oklahoma native faced the Diamondbacks in Arlington back in early May, one of his worst efforts of the season with 6 runs charged to his ledger before he could finish the fifth. Christian Walker connected for two of the three homers Arizona hit off Heaney.
Who Follows Mantiply for Arizona?
This is Mantiply’s ninth appearance this postseason, and second start after he also got the nod from Lovullo to start the bullpen carousel in Game 4 of the NLCS vs. the Phillies. He went an inning with a strikeout before Lovullo turned things over to righthander Luis Frias.
Frias worked the eighth and part of the ninth on Monday, burning through 20 pitches, so his availability Tuesday is a bit up in the air. In Mantiply’s three regular season starts, he was followed by Scott McGough (twice) and Bryce Jarvis. Neither of those pitchers is on the World Series roster.
One of the regular season starts Mantiply made came at home in August against Texas, and he also earned the win out of the bullpen in the May contest that Heaney started for the Rangers.
Garcia’s Status to be Determined
The Rangers are crossing their fingers that Garcia’s injury isn’t serious. The Texas outfielder left Monday’s game after apparently pulling a muscle in his left side during an at bat in the top of the eighth. He was replaced by Travis Jankowski in right field.
Garcia was 0-3 before departing the game, with a walk and a strikeout, and leads the Rangers with 8 HR and 22 RBI this postseason.
Umpire Notes & Roof Report
David Rackley, one of five umpires working their first World Series, is at the plate in Game 4. The 14-year veteran was 14-18-2 O/U/P during the regular season, with home teams priced from -120 to +120 going 9-8.
Rackley was part of Mark Carlson’s crew during the NLDS between the Phillies and Braves, and had the dish for Game 4 of that series, a clinching 3-1 Philadelphia win that stayed ‘under’ an 8½-run total.
The roof was open at Chase Field for Game 3, and there’s a similar forecast for Game 4 with a first-pitch temp around 76° and clear skies with very little wind.
The Picks
The Diamondbacks were 43-38 at home during the regular season, and 28-21 against southpaws. Arizona has gone 2-2 at Chase Field in the playoffs, and beaten all four left-handed starters. My free picks are on the Snakes and the ‘under’ in a 4-3 final.
MLB Pick: Diamondbacks ML (-105) at Heritage Sports
MLB Pick: Under 9½ (-118) at Heritage Sports
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.
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