3 biggest concerns going into the Orioles' ALDS matchup with the Rangers

The Baltimore Orioles' are set to begin the ALDS against the Rangers at 1:03 PM EST today in what should be a fantastic matchup. The Rangers are coming off a very convincing series win over the always tough Rays while the Orioles put together the best regular season in the entire American League in 2023.

So far, it appears as though Baltimore remains the favorites to win the series if most of the experts are to be believed, but this series is not a gimme by any stretch of the imagination. Here is a look at some of the biggest concerns Orioles fans should have going into Baltimore's matchup with the Rangers in the ALDS.

The Rangers' offense is legitimately scary

Much has been made of the Braves' record-breaking offense in 2023, but the Rangers have been quite impressive at the plate in their own right. In all of baseball, the Texas offense ranked third this season in fWAR, fourth in wRC+, fourth in homers, and led the entire American League in runs scored.

While the Rangers have gotten contributions from up and down their lineup, the key to the series is going to be for Baltimore to find a way to contain Marcus Semien, Corey Seager, and Adolis Garcia. Seager has a legitimate MVP case despite missing a big chunk of time due to injury and has a history of big time postseason performances. Semien's all-around game is likely to give Baltimore fits while Garcia has the sort of big time power that can change a game with one swing of the bat.

Keeping pace with the Rangers' offense isn't impossible especially if Baltimore's young bats show up under the bright lights, but it isn't fair to expect a couple runs a game to be enough to win games in this series especially with the Orioles being without their best bullpen arm, Felix Bautista.