Orioles vs. Rangers ALDS Game 3 starting lineups and pitching matchup 2023

ARLINGTON -- The Orioles landed in Texas with their backs against the wall for Game 3, already facing an elimination game against a Rangers club that hasn��t taken a loss this postseason.

Corey Seager��s record-setting five walks, the most in AL/NL postseason history, paired perfectly with a Mitch Garver grand slam to power Sunday��s 11-8 win for the Rangers. Now, they have a shot at sweeping the Orioles, something that hasn��t happened to Baltimore in a remarkable 91 consecutive multigame series, dating back to May 2022.

��We have to go to Texas and play well,�� said Orioles manager Brandon Hyde. ��We haven��t played our two best games here, but we played well on the road all year, so hopefully we can play well on the road.��

The Rangers are riding a wave of confidence after sweeping the Rays in the AL Wild Card Series at Tropicana Field, then turning right around and stealing two games at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. This team has bounced back so well from losing the AL West to the Astros after a disappointing final series to the regular season in Seattle, and for the first time since the night of Sept. 26, they��ll get to sleep in their own beds.

��I think if we would have won the division, I would definitely have enjoyed the rest,�� said Marcus Semien, ��especially playing every single game this year. We have a lot of guys who played a ton of games. But hey, we didn't get that done, and we got to go to [St. Petersburg] and get ourselves in a little rhythm. That's what helped us here in Baltimore.��

The Orioles have been resilient all season, going 52-29 on the road, but their path to a comeback starts against Nathan Eovaldi. The Rangers�� right-hander is coming off an All-Star season and looked great at The Trop on Wednesday, holding the Rays to one run over 6 2/3 innings while striking out eight.

Baltimore has to be confident behind Game 3 starter Dean Kremer in a big game, too, after the right-hander started in both of the Orioles�� clinch games this season, for a postseason spot and the AL East title.

? Here's why the O's shouldn't be counted out

Here��s what you need to know ahead of Game 3 at Globe Life Field:

When is the game and how can I watch it?

Today's game is being televised in the U.S. on FOX.

All series are available in the U.S. on MLB.TV with authentication to a participating Pay TV provider. Games are available live internationally (except in Canada). Full game archives will be available approximately 90 minutes after the game ends.

Who are the starting pitchers?

Orioles: RHP Dean Kremer

Kremer will be making his postseason debut after going 13-5 with a 4.12 ERA in a career-high 32 starts during the regular season. The 27-year-old right-hander has a 5.17 ERA in three previous outings vs. the Rangers, but he pitched well in his lone ��23 start against them, allowing three runs in 6 1/3 innings on May 27 at Camden Yards. Kremer allowed one run in 4 2/3 innings in his lone career start at Globe Life Field on April 17, 2021.

Rangers: RHP Nathan Eovaldi

Eovaldi has the most postseason experience of the Rangers�� healthy starters, and he is on extra rest after he tossed 6 2/3 innings of one-run ball against the Rays in Texas�� Game 2 win in the AL Wild Card Series. The Rangers ace was nails before a forearm strain sidelined him for six weeks after the All-Star break, and he struggled to a 9.30 ERA across his final six starts of the regular season. But postseason Nasty Nate appears to be back and ready to put the team on his back as Texas looks to secure its first trip to the ALCS since 2011.

What are the starting lineups?

Rangers: After his five-RBI performance in Game 2, Mitch Garver earned back-to-back starts at DH over Robbie Grossman.

Bochy also kept rookie Evan Carter in the fifth spot for the second straight game, right smack in between All-Stars Adolis Garc��a and Jonah Heim. Carter is hitting .500 with a 1.806 OPS in his first four career postseason games.

Orioles: With the right-handed Eovaldi on the mound, slugging DH Ryan O��Hearn (an .801 OPS in 112 regular-season games) and veteran second baseman Adam Frazier got their first starts of the ALDS. Both left-handed hitters were bench options in Games 1 and 2, when the Rangers started lefties Andrew Heaney and Jordan Montgomery. Jordan Westburg also earned his second straight postseason start, but he'll man the hot corner in Game 3.?

How will the bullpens line up after the starter?

Rangers: With the off-day heading back to Texas, the bullpen should be in a good spot. Rookie Cody Bradford ate 3 2/3 innings Sunday after Montgomery was knocked out in the fifth inning, so he��ll be unavailable, as will Dane Dunning and Heaney after their piggyback start in Game 1.

The bullpen should be relatively rested elsewhere, with Jos�� Leclerc, Aroldis Chapman and Josh Sborz apparently ready for high-leverage situations and Will Smith and Brock Burke also available. Mart��n P��rez will continue to be available as the long reliever.

Orioles: So far this series, Baltimore has had to lean heavily on its bullpen, using five relievers to cover 4 1/3 innings in Game 1 and seven to cover 7 1/3 innings in Game 2. The only bullpen arm who wasn��t utilized Sunday was left-hander DL Hall. But everybody in the ��pen should again be available coming out of Monday��s off-day. Righty Jacob Webb could be used less in high-leverage spots after allowing a solo homer to Josh Jung in Game 1 and a grand slam to Garver in Game 2.

Any injuries of note?

Rangers: The Rangers�� new and improved rotation has been decimated by injuries all season, with Jacob deGrom (right elbow), Max Scherzer (right shoulder) and Jon Gray (right forearm) all on the IL heading into the postseason. Gray is unlikely to return before a possible ALCS, and Scherzer threw to live batters Friday for the first time since a Sept. 12 start against the Blue Jays. Scherzer didn��t make the initial ALDS roster, but he could be an option down the line if Texas advances.

Thankfully, Texas�� group of All-Stars -- Seager, Eovaldi, Garc��a, Jung and Heim -- all have returned from injuries they dealt with earlier in the season. The Rangers hope their potent lineup can help cancel out the lack of rotation arms.

Reliever Jonathan Hern��ndez was left off the ALDS roster due to a right lat strain, an injury that Bochy said was sustained during Game 162, when Hern��ndez tossed one perfect inning with two strikeouts in Texas�� 1-0 loss to Seattle. It��s unclear whether he��ll be available after the ALDS.

Orioles: Right-hander F��lix Bautista underwent Tommy John surgery on Monday at Trinity Park Surgery Center in Arlington, and is expected to be sidelined until the start of the 2025 campaign. The procedure was performed by Dr. Keith Meister. Bautista has been a big loss for Baltimore, which navigated the final five weeks of the regular season without its All-Star closer.

The Game 3 starting assignment may have gone to lefty John Means, but the 30-year-old was left off the ALDS roster due to left elbow soreness. Returning from Tommy John surgery, the southpaw had a 2.66 ERA in four September starts. He could be available in the ALCS, should the O��s come back and advance.

Who��s hot, who��s not?

Rangers: The Rangers�� rookie duo of Carter and Jung have continued their hot starts to this postseason, with Carter adding a hit and a walk and Jung two hits and a walk in Game 2 of the ALDS. Center fielder Leody Taveras is also hitting the quietest .333 in baseball, while Seager does what Seager does with a .455/.600/.727 slash line this postseason after drawing five walks Sunday.

Leadoff hitter Semien had his first multihit game of the postseason in Game 2, but Nathaniel Lowe��s struggles at the plate continued with an 0-for-4 day to lower his postseason average to .167.

Orioles: Hays has reached base in five of his past six plate appearances after going 3-for-4 with a double, two singles and a walk in Game 2. Gunnar Henderson and Aaron Hicks each hit his first home run of the postseason Sunday. Jorge Mateo went 4-for-4 in his first career playoff game, but he��ll likely be a bench option in Game 3 with the right-handed Eovaldi on the mound.

Adley Rutschman snapped an 0-for-7 when he doubled in the eighth inning of Game 2. Cedric Mullins, who ended the regular season in a 2-for-36 skid, is 0-for-7 to begin the postseason.