Keys to Game 3 of ALDS 

October, 3, 2011
10/03/11
12:59
PM ET
By Jim Bowden | ESPN.com
Here's what I will be looking for in Game 3 of each ALDS series on Monday.


Texas Rangers at Tampa Bay Rays


• Rays starter David Price is going to have to mix in his secondary pitches from the beginning of this game if he’s going to beat the Rangers. The lefty has a tendency to fall in love with his fastball. That's understandable considering it's one of the best pitches in the game, but when his slider is working, it’s a wipeout pitch that he can bury at the back foot of right-handed hitters. Texas has a lot of good right-handed hitters, such as Ian Kinsler, Michael Young and Adrian Beltre, and he has to keep them off balance. Price will still throw mostly fastballs, but he has to show the Rangers he's not afraid to mix things up.

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Jim Bowden
Jim Bowden

Bowden, who served as the senior vice president and GM for the Cincinnati Reds and the Washington Nationals, is an analyst for ESPN.com. In 1992, Bowden became the youngest GM in MLB history when the Reds hired him at age 31. The Reds finished in first place twice during his 10 years as GM, and he was named MLB Executive of the Year by Baseball America in 1999. After working for ESPN in 2004, Bowden became the first GM of the Washington Nationals when the franchise relocated from Montreal to Washington, D.C., in 2005, working in that role until the 2009 season. Bowden co-hosts the "Inside Pitch" radio show on Sirius XM satellite radio. Follow on Twitter: @JimBowdenESPNxm.

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