World Series Game 3 betting tips, picks, predictions

The Texas Rangers take things on the road and will try to rebound from a bad loss in Game 2 of the 2023 World Series. The Arizona Diamondbacks pummeled their AL opponents on Saturday night with a 16-hit attack in their 9-1 win to even out the series at one game apiece.

With first pitch set for 8:03 p.m. ET, Max Scherzer and Brandon Pfaadt will be on the mound on Monday. Scherzer has yet to win this post-season and lasted just 44 pitches and 2 2/3 innings in his last outing, Game 7 of the ALCS against the Astros. Meanwhile, the Diamondbacks have won the last five games that Pfaadt has started.

How will Game 3 fare and what are the bets you should make?

Tristan H. Cockcroft, Eric Karabell and Todd Zola break it all down in today's roundtable.

World Series Game 3 picks

Monday, 8:03 p.m. ET, Chase Field, Phoenix
Scherzer (0-1, 9.45 ERA) vs. Pfaadt (0-0, 2.70)

Money line: Rangers -115, Diamondbacks -105
Run line: Rangers + 1.5 (-225), Diamondbacks -1.5 (+185)
Total runs: Over/Under 9.5 (+100/-120)

Who would have thought "Advantage: Diamondbacks" in a Pfaadt versus Scherzer matchup? Pfaadt can't be expected to repeat his Game 3 exploits from both the NLCS and NLDS, but he just needs to be good enough to get Arizona to their well-rested bullpen. Scherzer has been ineffective in two post-season starts, and the Diamondbacks are beginning to regain their aggressiveness on the basepaths, so I'll back Arizona to win (-105 ML). Also,Christian Walker is showing signs of breaking out at the plate and platoon splits don't matter much for me (or the homer-prone Scherzer, so it seems). I'll back Walker to take Scherzer deep (+400) -- Zola

I will also take the Diamondbacks and their rookie hurler over the future Hall of Famer. Pfaadt seems to have turned the corner over the past few weeks, and we should expect five usable innings from him. Just don't assume that he pitches long enough to win the game. Take the over on the 9.5 runs overall and I will keep picking the Rangers' Marcus Semien to homer (+490) until he does so. Then I'll probably do it again! -- Karabell

Game 4 is sure to be the one where A) everyone's picking the "over," or B) the over/under is the series' highest to begin with, since both teams are likely to go with bullpen-heavy strategies tomorrow. This game, however, is the one I see being the sneaky-high-scoring contest, so I see the most value in the Diamondbacks (-105 ML) and over 9.5 total runs (-120).

Scherzer has the name brand while Pfaadt has the "hot-streak buzz" from his strong NLCS, but neither pitcher is a sure thing. In fact, Scherzer hasn't looked good at all. This gives this game all the look of a potential 9-7 final score (a toss-up, but give me the Diamondbacks with these odds). -- Cockcroft