In 2010, the San Francisco Giants and the Texas Rangers faced off with the World Series on the line, and the Giants won in five games, their first of three World Series titles in five years.
16 years later, fortunes have obviously shifted dramatically for both teams. While Texas got back to the promised land and won its first World Series in 2023, San Francisco has made the playoffs just twice since the end of its dynasty, and Buster Posey, a young star on that 2010 team, is now the team’s president of baseball operations. The Giants orchestrated a fire sale at this season’s trade deadline, and while the Rangers only made one significant move, they’re unlikely to make the playoffs either.
The teams split the first two games of their series, so all is left to play for at 2:35 p.m. ET this afternoon in the decider. Carson Whisenhunt will start for San Francisco, and Texas will turn to Cody Bradford.
Let’s break down this World Series rematch with some odds and lines at DraftKings Sportsbook.
San Francisco Giants at Texas Rangers Best Bets
- Texas Rangers First Run of Game (-110): Despite the fact that the Giants will bat first in every inning, I still don’t trust Whisenhunt to the extent that I do Bradford. Bradford has a better track record at both the MLB and Triple-A levels.
- San Francisco Giants U2.5 Walks (-125): San Francisco has drawn a walk in under 1/14 of its plate appearances, and the Rangers’ pitchers pepper the zone at among the highest rates. Bradford had a 96th-percentile walk rate in his most recent MLB season.
San Francisco Giants at Texas Rangers prediction, preview
Tony Vitello’s first season in charge in San Francisco has been a disaster from start to finish. The Giants first dipped below a 20% chance of making the playoffs on April 4 and have basically stayed there for the entire season, and they’ve never been over .500. Though San Francisco has had the 13th-best offense for the season as a whole, it’s been the 11th-worst since the All-Star break, and it’s likely to get worse after dealing Luis Arráez and Heliot Ramos and likely losing both Casey Schmitt and Harrison Bader for the season with injuries. Additionally, the Giants’ pitching hasn’t been good, as they’ve had the ninth-worst rotation ERA and 12th-worst bullpen ERA for the season as a whole. They also dramatically shook up their pitching staff at the trade deadline, dealing starters Robbie Ray and Tyler Mahle, as well as relievers Caleb Killian and Erik Miller. Several younger prospects, including Whisenhunt, should have increased roles in San Francisco’s pitching plans for the rest of the season.
Meanwhile, the Rangers have only hung around the playoff race because of how wide-open the AL West is. Each team, including the Los Angeles Angels, has spent some time in the division lead, and despite hovering within six games of .500 all season, Texas still trails the Houston Astros by just 2.5 games and has a 21.5% chance of ultimately winning the division. The Rangers have had a league-average offense all season, ranking 17th in OPS for the season as a whole and 16th since the All-Star break, although they’ve at least had one breakout star in Ezequiel Durán, who’s posted a .933 OPS since the Midsummer Classic. Additionally, Texas has had the 13th-worst rotation and the eighth-worst bullpen, though Chase Silseth could help slightly with the latter as long as he returns to the form he demonstrated at the start of the season with the Angels. Reportedly, the Rangers had discussions about moving on from Jacob deGrom, but the 38-year-old declined to waive his no-trade clause.
Whisenhunt wasn’t all that great as an unofficial rookie in 2025, recording a 5.01 ERA in five starts. He has been worse so far in 2026, pitching to a 6.63 mark in his first four outings, including a 3.1-inning, six-run disaster last Friday. The southpaw has shown at least some potential in the minors, pitching to a 4.15 ERA for Triple-A Sacramento at hitter-friendly Sutter Health Park, but so far, that hasn’t translated into MLB success. Unsurprisingly, advanced stats aren’t too kind to him; he has a 7.64 expected ERA, which would be in the league’s bottom decile if he’d pitched enough innings to qualify, and he also ranks in the bottom decile in walk rate, barrel rate, and hard-hit rate, helping mitigate some of Texas’ biggest weaknesses. To his credit, he has posted elite chase and whiff rates, and the Rangers are a relatively whiff-prone team as is, but with a weak fielding team behind him, any contact is a dangerous game. To his credit, Whisenhunt has been slightly better on the road across the two levels at which he’s pitched this season, and Texas hasn’t been much better at home, but I’m still not expecting too much from him.
Bradford doesn’t have much more of a recent track record. While he recorded a 3.54 ERA across 14 outings (13 starts) in his most recent MLB season in 2024, he missed all of the 2025 season and most of 2026 after undergoing internal brace surgery. He’s been excellent in the minors, pitching to a 2.25 ERA across five rehab starts, but that doesn’t guarantee immediate success back at the MLB level. The last time he pitched, though, he was pretty good, posting a 73rd-percentile expected ERA then. In particular, Bradford has exceptional control, finishing in the 96th percentile in walk rate in 2025 and posting a 16:2 strikeout-to-walk ratio in his MiLB rehab starts, so he should pose a huge challenge for a Giants team that has drawn the fewest free passes in the league this season. Additionally, Bradford had an 80th-percentile hard-hit rate in his most recent season, and San Francisco is a soft-contact team. He’s also been much better at home throughout his career, and the Giants have been relatively consistent whether at home or on the road.
San Francisco Giants at Texas Rangers pick, best bet
Best Bet: Texas Rangers First Run of Game (-110)
The Rangers have a somewhat better offense, especially now that Arráez, Schmitt, and Ramos are all either off the team or out, and despite his not having pitched in MLB since 2024, I trust Bradford more than Whisenhunt.
Strong Lean: San Francisco Giants U2.5 Walks (-125)
The league’s least walk-happy team against a pitcher who’s biggest strength is not giving up free passes? Sure, why not. It’s unclear how long Bradford will remain in the game, but even once he’s pulled, Texas’ bullpen has issued the fourth-fewest walks as well.
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