Derek Holland (5-6, 4.92 ERA) and Danny Salazar (11-5, 3.90 ERA) are on the hill in the last of a four-game series between the Texas Rangers (76-54) and the Cleveland Indians (73-55) at Globe Life Park in Arlington. The Rangers won the last game 7-0, and Texas leads the series 2-1. Action begins at 3:05 p.m. ET on Sunday, Aug. 28 and can be seen on STOh and FSSW.
Holland pitched 6.0 innings in his most recent start, surrendering one run, striking out five and walking one in a 3-0 defeat to the Reds. Carlos Beltran (.288, 58 Rs, 24 HRs, 73 RBIs) continued his strong play yesterday, going 2 for 4 with one run. Salazar went 4.0 innings, surrendering six runs, striking out two and walking three in a 9-1 defeat to the Athletics in his last outing.
Cleveland takes on Texas as a -120 favorite. The Over/Under (O/U) for the matchup is sitting at nine runs. The Rangers have an overall money line of +2,499 and a record as the underdog of 39-34. Texas has gone winless (0-3) as the underdog and 6-4 SU in its last 10 outings.
As for their opponent, Cleveland is coming in with an overall money line of +530 and an impressive record of 58-38 as the favorite. Offensively, they average 5.0 runs per game, which is good for second in the AL. The Indians are tough outs for opponents, ranking third in the AL with 9.1 hits per game. The Indians are an excellent base stealing team with 102 stolen bases, ranking fifth in the MLB. When it comes to preventing batters from getting hits, the Indians are the best in the AL with an average of 8.2 hits allowed per game. The Indians have established a reputation of overwhelming hitters with an AL-best 8.7 strikeouts per road game.
The Rangers lead the season series, 4-2. The Rangers have a 56-37 record against right-handed starting pitchers on the year, which is what they’ll be facing when Salazar takes the mound. Holland (LHP) will be on the hill against the Indians, who have a very good 26-14 record against left-handed starting pitchers.
Predictions: SU Winner – CLE, O/U – Over
Notes
When leading after seven innings, Texas is 35-27, while Cleveland is 28-25.
The Indians didn’t score any runs in their last game. The Rangers have a 4-0 record when they don’t allow any runs.
When they outhit their opponents, the Rangers are 51-9. The Indians have a 59-6 record when outhitting opponents.
Ranking ninth, Texas is in the top 10 of the league in runs, scoring 605 this season. Cleveland ranks in the top five with 631.
Ranking 27th, Texas is near the bottom of the league in walks, notching 341 this season. Cleveland ranks in the bottom half at 16th with 388.
When the Rangers hit at least one home run, they are 63-36. When the Indians hit at least one homer, they have a 52-35 record.
