The Texas Rangers have pushed its way back in to the American League playoff picture with a winning streak that had spanned almost two full weeks. On Saturday, they ended up losing to the Detroit Tigers. Even so, the Rangers have won 10 of their last 11. Now the Rangers will look to stay hot when they wrap up their three-game series with the Detroit Tigers on Sunday Night Baseball.
Texas will send Yu Darvish to the mound. Detroit will counter with Matt Boyd. The Rangers have struggled on the road overall this season but they will have a favorable pitching matchup when they look to take down the Tigers under the bright lights on Sunday Night Baseball.
Details
Date: Sunday May 21st
Time: 8:00 PM ET
Line: Texas -120
Why The Rangers Might Win…
Texas has relied heavily on its offense over the course of its extended hot streak. The Rangers have scored four runs or more in each of their 10 wins, including eight or more on three separate occasions. They lost on Saturday and they only scored three runs, so four or more seems to be the key for them.
Mike Napoli and Joey Gallo have combined for nine home runs over the past two weeks. Nomar Mazara has been very steady with a .353 average and eight RBI over that span. Meanwhile, Jonathan Lucroy has finally started to get on base with a .412 average over the last 14 days.
With the offense clicking, the pressure has been taken off of a starting rotation that has quietly been solid as well. Darvish has put together a solid 2.76 ERA this season, including a 1.09 WHIP. Texas has won each of Darvish’s last five starts. He actually has a better road ERA (2.33) than home ERA (2.97), so that’s encouraging. He has started twice against the Detroit Tigers over the last three years, winning both outings. In those starts, he has posted a 2.63 ERA against them while holding them to a .212 batting average.
The way that Darvish is pitching this season along with his recent history against the Tigers is encouraging.
Why The Tigers Might Win….
Detroit has been slightly better at home than on the road so far this season. After taking two of three from the Baltimore Orioles at home, the Tigers will look to finish off their series with Texas on a high note. They got going on Saturday with a 9-3 win where they pounded the Rangers pitching staff. Keep in mind that the Rangers had won 10 straight games prior to that, so Detroit should feel good about themselves. Their offense has been strong all season long; it’s just a matter of getting the pitching. The Tigers have score 204 runs this season season. They are averaging 4.97 runs per game, which is the second-best mark in the American League.
Boyd will certainly need to be better after struggling in each of his last four starts. Boyd has allowed three earned runs or more in four straight. His ERA has ballooned from 3.77 to 5.18 over that span. There is no doubt that Boyd has more to offer so perhaps he bounces back with a strong performance on Sunday Night Baseball. J.D. Martinez has been one of the hottest hitters in baseball over the past couple of weeks. Martinez has hit a ridiculous .476 with five home runs and 11 RBI over that span. Detroit needs more from the rest of their offense in order to get back on track. If Martinez can stay hot, he could help the Tigers offense get to Darvish on Sunday Night Baseball.
Outlook
Darvish has been outstanding of late, so the Rangers should feel confident in his abilities heading in to Sunday night. The Texas offense has been really clicking and there is no reason to think they will slow down with Boyd on the mound for the Tigers.
Detroit’s offense has been better with Martinez in the lineup, but it still hasn’t been nearly consistent enough. Look for Texas to roll to another win with Darvish extending his streak of winning starts to six in a row.
The Rangers opened up in the -135 range but that number has dropped down around -125. We might be going against the grain but we like the Rangers in this spot.
Pick: Texas -125
The baseball season is in full swing, so if you’re looking at betting lines, in-game betting and World Series futures, click here to bet on baseball (or any other sports) at BetDSI!
