Josh Hamilton gives the Rangers a '50-50' shot at re-signing him

Josh Hamilton will become a free agent just days after the World Series, and he gives the Rangers a '50-50' chance at re-signing him.

Rangers End Rangers' Season

An absolutely inept offensive performance wastes a fantastic outing from Yu Darvish, placing the final note on the Rangers' disappointing season.

AL Wild Card, Rangers vs. Orioles final score: Texas falls to Baltimore, 5-1, to end season

The Rangers' improbable slide concludes with a disappointing 4-1 loss to the Orioles

Rangers vs. Orioles AL wild card game score: Texas trails Baltimore 2-1

The Texas Rangers trail the Baltimore Orioles mid way through the 6th

AL wild card game, Rangers vs. Orioles umpires announced

Gary Darling will be the crew chief for Friday's wild card game between the Rangers and Orioles.

2012 MLB Playoffs streaming: Orioles vs. Rangers, postseason available to view online

Postseason.tv is a postseason service offered by the MLB that will show the Wild Card, divisional and championship rounds of the MLB playoffs in their entirety.

MLB Playoff and World Series odds 2012: Rangers not favorites to win World Series

After being knocked out of the AL West title with a late slump, the Rangers are near the bottom of the pack in Bovada's odds to win the World Series.

Top 25 Texas Rangers Playoff Moments

The biggest positive swings in win probability in the Rangers' postseason history.

MLB Playoff picks: Wild Card round

Just as Bug Selig and Major League Baseball's owners wanted, baseball fans are treated to two immediate Game 7s, as the Texas Rangers host the Baltimore Orioles on Friday, while the Atlanta Braves play host to the St. Louis Cardinals.

In both games, the the home team is favored.

Texas will send Yu Darvish to the mound, who has turned into one of baseball's best pitchers since August. Prior to August, though, Darvish was wildly inconsistent, and struggled with his command. Darvish would be excellent one night, and then go out and let the Mariners smack him around.

Baltimore counters with Joe Saunders, who simply isn't that good. Saunders has been serviceable for Baltimore, but that's about all you can say about him, pitching 174 and 2/3 innings with a 4.07 ERA and 1.37 WHIP.

Texas has looked awful, but they've had a full day off, and get to play in Arlington with a superior pitcher. I just don't see the Rangers losing.

Prediction: Rangers 6, Orioles 3. Darvish is too much for Baltimore's bats, and their storybook season comes to an end.

Over in the National League, the Braves are sending Kris Medlen to face off against the National League's best offense. Medlen has been on an incredible run, and the Braves have won 23 starts of his in a row.

Kyle Lohse starts for St. Louis. He's not scary, but he's had a good season, and I understand Mike Matheny's decision.

Prediction: Cardinals 7, Braves 4. St. Louis pulls off the upset...again. Medlen's LOB% is unsustainable, as is his abnormally low BABiP. That catches up to him against the St. Louis offense.

Rangers vs. Orioles: A shot at redemption

Texas will be a player in the first attempt at baseball's new playoff format, trying to save a season dangerously close to lost against a team with many familiar faces.

Rangers vs. Orioles: Joe Saunders to start for Baltimore

Orioles manager Buck Showalter gave a nod to experience when he announced Joe Saunders (9-13, 4.07 ERA) will start in Friday's American League wild-card game against the Texas Rangers.

Part of the decision to start Saunders is due to the knee injury of Steve Johnson, and the questions surrounding how he'd be able to hold up.

Saunders, acquired from Arizona in August, is 0-6 with a 9.38 ERA in six career starts in Texas (and 3-7 with a 6.48 ERA in 11 career starts against the Rangers), but it isn't something with which Showalter is concerned.

"If you're looking for pitchers with good numbers against the Texas Rangers, they're hard to find," Showalter said.

The Rangers will throw Yu Darvish at Baltimore, and in that, they are giving a nod to inexperience, in a sense. He is 10-3 with a 3.12 ERA in 95 innings against teams he's pitched against for the first time this season. He's struck out 108 and walked 41 in that span.

First pitch is scheduled for 8:37 p.m. ET Friday in Arlington.

Texas vs. Baltimore: Orioles full of ex-Rangers

The surprising Baltimore team that faces the Rangers on Friday has plenty of Texas ties.

Rangers vs. Orioles: Wild Card picks and predictions

The Texas Rangers have stumbled backwards into the MLB playoffs, but that hasn't deterred a majority of CBSSports.com's baseball experts from picking them to knock off the upstart Baltimore Orioles in the AL Wild Card play-in game.

New playoff round irrelevant in American League

MLB's extra wild card qualifier was irrelevant in the American League in 2012.