Arizona Diamondbacks vs Texas Rangers Odds, Player Props, Picks & Predictions (Game 2)

• The Arizona Diamondbacks try to bounce back from a devastating loss yesterday when they face the Texas Rangers in Game 2 of the 2023 World Series on Saturday, Oct. 28
• Merrill Kelly and Jordan Montgomery get the starts in Game 2
• Below, see the Diamondbacks vs Rangers odds, player props, and picks for Game 2

The Texas Rangers (99-75, 53-43 home) started strong and finished strong in the opener of the 2023 World Series last night, taking a 2-0 lead in the first inning and then forcing extra innings with a two-run bottom of the ninth. An Adolis Garcia home run in the 11th inning sent the crowd at Globe Life Field into hysterics and, on Saturday, Texas aims to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series with the Arizona Diamondbacks (93-82, 47-43 away).

First pitch for Game 2 is once again scheduled for 8:03 pm ET. The ARI/TEX Game 2 odds favor the Rangers again, but the gap in the odds is narrower than on Friday.

Diamondbacks vs Rangers Game 2 Odds

With Jordan Montgomery on the mound, Texas is a -142 home favorite in the MLB odds for Game 2 (after closing at roughly -160 on Friday night). Arizona, which will have number-two starter Merrill Kelly on the hill, comes back as a +120 underdog.

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Odds as of Oct. 28 on the DraftKings Sportsbook app.

The series-opener had an over/under of 8.0 and looked like it would be a push as Arizona took a 5-3 lead into the ninth inning. But a two-run homer from Corey Seager pushed the game over the total and into extra innings.

COREY SEAGER TIES THE GAME IN THE 9TH WITH ONE SWING OF THE BAT!!!

📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/RcUnRf801c

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) October 28, 2023

Already the favorite prior to Game 1, the Rangers’ World Series odds improved from -176 to -295 on average. The Dbacks faded from +144 to +237.

The public is all over Texas in the MLB public betting splits for Game 2, putting a staggering 93% of moneyline handle on the Rangers (-142) as of 10:45 am ET on Saturday.

ARI vs TEX Game 2 Starting Pitchers

Both teams should feel confident in their starters heading into Game 2. Kelly has given the DBacks 17.0 innings of work while posting a 2.65 ERA and 1.00 WHIP with 19 strikeouts.

Montgomery has pitched 25.0 innings and has an even better ERA than his counterpart (2.16) but a significantly higher WHIP (1.28) with just 17 Ks.

Merrill Kelly vs Jordan Montgomery

*Statistics in table from 2023 regular season.

Kelly will be making his third road start of the playoffs. After holding the LA Dodgers scoreless over 6.1 innings in the NLDS, he went 10.2 total innings over two starts against Philadelphia in the NLCS, allowing five runs on six hits with 14 strikeouts. He was tagged for three solo homers in Game 2 of that series (a 10-0 loss) but bounced back with a one-run performance over 5.0 innings in a must-win Game 6 (a 5-1 victory).

Kelly has limited history against the Texas lineup, but the history that does exist bodes well for the 35-year-old. In 30 total at bats, Ranger hitters are slashing just .133/.161/.167 with one double and no home runs. His only previous start against Texas came back in 2019 when none of current starters were in the Ranger lineup.

Montgomery has only had one truly bad appearance in the 2023 postseason, a nine-hit, four-run outing over 4.0 innings against Baltimore in the ALDS.

On the whole, Montgomery’s history against the lineup he’ll be facing on Saturday isn’t encouraging. In 59 total at-bats, the Arizona lineup is slashing .305/.328/.424 against the 6’6 lefty. Gabriel Moreno is the only player to take him deep, though Ketel Marte is 3-for-6 with a triple.

The majority of those at-bats stem from two starts against the DBacks in the regular season. While one was an outright disaster (10 hits and seven runs over just 4.0 innings with two Ks), the other was an absolute game (four hits and a walk over 8.0 scoreless innings with six Ks).

DBacks vs Rangers Game 2 Player Props

*Odds from Caesars Sportsbook. All others from DraftKings.

Both pitchers are listed with an outs-record prop of 16.5 for in the Game 2 MLB player props. If yesterday’s series-opener hadn’t gone to extra innings, those would likely be an out lower. But with the bullpens getting taxed in the first of what could be a long series, both managers will be looking for more length from their Game 2 starters.

Fresh off setting a new record for RBIs in a postseason (22), Adolis Garcia is listed with the shortest odds to record another RBI (+105) and the shortest odds to go yard (+230), which he has now done in five straight games.

ADOLIS GARCÍA WALKS IT OFF TO TAKE GAME 1 OF THE WORLD SERIES 😱

(via @Rangers)pic.twitter.com/Dzt3LzTfLF

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 28, 2023

Diamondbacks vs Rangers Predictions for Game 2

Kelly’s performance in the postseason coupled with his (brief) dominance over this Texas lineup leads to a strong lean towards the Diamondbacks in the first half of the game. Adding in Montgomery’s checkered history against the Arizona hitters, that lean becomes all the heavier.

Montgomery’s inability to get swings-and-misses is going to spell trouble at hitter-friendly Globe Life Field. His excellent start against Arizona in the regular season came on the road at the more pitcher-friendly Chase Field, while his disastrous start (10 hits in four innings) came at home, continuing the same home/road split trends from the regular season (3.61 ERA at home versus 2.73 ERA on the road).

DBacks vs Rangers Game 2 Picks:

• Diamondbacks first 5 innings moneyline (+114)
• Kelly over 4.5 strikeouts (-150)
• Montgomery under 16.5 outs (-130)