The MLB season is set to reach it's climax for the 2023 season as the Texas Rangers face off with the Arizona Diamondbacks in Game 5 the World Series.
Texas currently lead the series 3-1 heading into Game 5 and have the chance to win their first ever MLB World Series Championship at home, but the Diamondbacks know it's win or go home and will be ready to give everything on the field.
We'll take a look at the surprising matchup and provide you with our best free MLB betting picks to see if we can earn you some extra cash while you take in the action.
Learn more about how to bet on the MLB World Series here.
Arizona Diamondbacks vs Texas Rangers Game 5 information
- Wednesday, 1 November 2023
- Chase Field, Phoenix, Arizona
- 20:03 ET start
- Arizona Diamondbacks lead series 3-1
Post-season so far
The Diamondbacks had a pretty solid regular season as they earned themselves a record of 84-78, which earned them a place in the Wild Card series against the Milwaukee Brewers in a best-of-three game series.
Arizona made no mistakes in the series though as they made quick work of the Brewers, winning Game 1 6-3 before wrapping up the series as quickly as possible with a 5-2 win in Game 2.
That then set up a best-of-five game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, but the Diamondbacks really showed their quality and credentials with a sweep in the series to head through to the Championship Series with some dominant performances.
Game 1 was an absolute mauling as the Diamondbacks claimed a huge 11-2 win at Dodger Stadium before they repeated the victory in game 2 at the same venue with a 4-2 win. Game 3 saw them head back home to Arizona as they claimed a 4-2 win to set up the NL Championship Series against the Philadelphia Phillies.
They went 2-0 down in the series after 5-3 and 10-0 defeats before fighting back to level things 2-2 with 2-1 and 6-5 wins. Game 5 was another blowout as Philadelphia claimed a huge 6-1 win, before a 5-1 win in Game 6 for Arizona took it to Game 7 where they claimed their spot in the finals with a 4-2 win.
The Rangers had a solid regular season, posting a record of 90-72 to earn themselves a spot in the Wild Card Series against the Tampa Bay Rays where they made light work of their opponents by sweeping the series with 4-0 and 7-1 wins.
That set up a Divisional Series clash with the Baltimore Orioles where they once again claimed a dominant series win as they claimed a 3-2 win in Game 1, before an exhilarating game 2 that saw them come out 11-8 winners. Game 3 saw them clinch the series comfortably with another dominant 7-1 win.
That set up a huge AL Championship Series against the Houston Astros that saw some fantastic baseball played between the two teams. Texas won the first two games of the series 2-0 and 5-4 respectively, but then things seemed to fall apart with Houston winning the next three in a row 8-5, 3-10 and 5-4.
They turned in stunning performances in game 6 and 7 as they picked up a 9-2 and 11-4 win to make it to another World Series.
The opening game of the series saw the Rangers take a razor close win 6-5 thanks to a run in the 11th innings, before a dominant win in Game 2 from Arizona saw them level the series with a huge 9-1 win. The Rangers took the lead again in Game 3 on the road with a 3-1 victory and then extended their lead in Game 4 with an 11-7 win to maintain their unbeaten road record.
A chance to do something special tomorrow. #GoAndTakeIt pic.twitter.com/VEjg11TD4j
— Texas Rangers (@Rangers) November 1, 2023
MLB picks: Arizona Diamondbacks to win Game 5 @ -105
Every game from now on is a potential clincher, which means both teams should be super motivated.
Texas have Eovaldi, one of the best postseason pitchers of this era and really of all-time, on the mound in Game 5. The Diamondbacks are starting their ace, though Gallen has not been particularly ace-like throughout the post-season. He's up to 237 1/3 innings on the year, by far a career high, and it's fair to wonder if fatigue is setting in.
Arizona's offense can make life easy on Gallen if they carry over their performance in the late innings of Game 4 into Game 5, and with the odds so tight it makes sense to back the slight favorite to keep the series alive for at least one more game. They may find themselves 3-1 down in the series, but they're currently outscoring Texas 22-21 and they will have confidence of getting the job done.
Texas are 10-0 on the road this post-season, and Arizona will snap that streak to keep their chances alive.
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MLB picks: Over 8.5 total runs @ -115
Both of these teams are very good, or else they wouldn't be in this series to begin with and that means plenty of runs should be expected.
Game 1 saw 11 runs scored, Game 2 saw 10 runs and Game 4 saw 18 runs, so the over of 8.5 seems a bit low. Game 3 was a miss with just four runs and that came in Chase Field when Arizona had their backs against the wall having lost the opening two games.
They'll have their backs against the wall here too, but everyone will be expecting them to come out guns blazing to keep their chances of success alive. Most projections have this game as ending 6-4 to Arizona which means the projection is for this Overs bet to land too. Take it and watch the drama unfold.
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