The Texas Rangers will travel a few hours south to Minute Maid Park to face off against their divisional rival Houston Astros. The opening pitch is scheduled for 8:10 p.m. ET and ATTSN Southwest will be showing the matchup.
Texas Rangers vs. Houston Astros Odds
Texas (+225) is coming into this one as the underdog against Houston (-250) and oddsmakers have set the Over/Under for this night game at eight runs. Odds for wagering on the game’s total stand at -110 for the under and -110 for the over. Gamblers can also bet on the game’s runline with the odds sitting at +100 for the Rangers +1.5 runs and -120 for the Astros -1.5 runs.
The Rangers are 15-24 SU and have gone 15-24 against the spread (ATS). They’ve lost 3.1 units for moneyline bettors in the season’s early going and 13.2 units ATS. Texas has covered the spread only twice over its last seven games and the over has hit in four of those seven. The Astros, on the other hand, are 24-15 SU and 20-19 ATS. The team’s lost 2.4 units for moneyline bettors and 1.6 units ATS. Houston has covered the spread four times in its last seven games and the total has gone under in five of those seven.
Astros games have had an over/under record of 14-23-2 so far in 2018. Rangers games have gone over 21 times, gone under 15 times and pushed on three instances.
Southpaw Cole Hamels will get the nod for the visiting Rangers. Hamels is 1-4 with a 3.94 ERA and 52 strikeouts. He’s 0-1 with 14 strikeouts and a 3.86 ERA against Houston this year (two starts).
The Astros are putting the ball in the hands of righty Justin Verlander (4-1, 1.17 ERA), who’s got 70 strikeouts and 11 walks to his credit, as well as a 0.71 WHIP. Verlander is 1-0 with 16 strikeouts and a 0.64 ERA over two starts against Texas this year.
Texas’ pitching staff allowed 5.4 runs per game and its starters own a 5.27 ERA, 1.48 WHIP and 7.14 K/9. The bullpen has managed an ERA of 4.39, along with a WHIP of 1.48.
Rangers hitters have slashed .234/.307/.400 on their way to 4.1 runs scored per game in 2018, including 3.4 runs per game against divisional foes and 4.4 per game over the team’s last five contests (2-3 SU).
Right fielder Nomar Mazara and first baseman Joey Gallo have led Texas’ offense. Mazara is slashing .294/.357/.545 with 10 home runs, 26 RBIs and 22 runs scored, while Gallo (.213/.293/.504) has produced 12 homers, 25 RBIs and 23 runs scored.
Mazara didn’t do especially well on the road last season. Across 301 plate appearances, he maintained a slash line of .206/.276/.360 (compared to his total season line of .253/.323/.422).
For the home team, Houston’s pitching staff has yielded 2.8 runs per game overall in 2018. The team’s starting pitching staff has an ERA of 2.35, a WHIP of 0.97 and a strikeouts-per-nine of 10.6. The bullpen has a 3.23 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 9.7 K/9. In 20 games against divisional foes, Astros starters have an ERA of 2.39 and the bullpen’s ERA is 3.94.
Houston’s hitters have produced 4.9 runs per contest, including 5.4 per game against divisional foes and 5.6 per game over their last five. The team has a slash-line of .303/.365/.519 over its last five matchups and is 3-2 SU during that stretch.
Right fielder George Springer and shortstop Carlos Correa have led the Astros’ batters so far. Springer is hitting .296/.356/.506 with eight home runs, 26 RBIs and 33 runs scored, while Correa’s line is .296/.367/.496 with five homers, 25 RBIs and 24 runs scored.
Compared to his total season slash line of .283/.367/.522, Springer did not perform very well against left-handed pitchers at home last season, slashing .218/.371/.364 over 70 such plate appearances.
The Rangers have lost 0.8 units and are 11-16 ATS when facing a right-handed starting pitcher this season. The over has cashed in 14 of those games, as opposed to 12 that’ve hit the under against righty starters. On the other hand, the Astros have lost 0.7 units and are 7-6 ATS when facing a left-handed starting pitcher. The over’s hit in five of those games, as opposed to seven which went under the total.
Texas Rangers vs. Houston Astros MLB Prediction
Predictions: SU Winner – Astros, ATS Winner – Rangers, O/U – OVER
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Notes
Betting Notes
Houston has recorded 23.3 Runs + Hits + Errors per game over its last 10 outings and 28.0 over its last five.
The Rangers have hit 18 home runs in their last 10 games. The Astros have hit nine over their last 10.
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