The Texas Rangers will travel a few hours downstate to take on their divisional foe Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park. The action will begin at 8:10 p.m. ET and ATTSN Southwest is in line to broadcast the game.
Texas Rangers at Houston Astros Odds
Texas (+220) is hosting this game as the underdog against Houston (-240) and oddsmakers have put the Over/Under for this one at eight runs (-110 for both the over and the under). The game’s current runline odds stand at +100 for taking the Rangers +1.5 runs and -120 for the Astros -1.5.
The Rangers have gone only 4-10 SU this year and are 4-10 against the spread (ATS). They’ve lost 4.4 units for bettors taking the moneyline in the season’s early going and 9.3 units ATS. Texas has covered the spread only twice over its last seven games and the total has gone over in four of those seven. The Astros are 9-4 SU and 7-6 ATS. The team’s gained 1.4 units for bettors taking the moneyline while earning 0.1 units ATS. Houston has covered the spread only twice over its last seven games and the total has gone under in six of those seven.
Houston games have an over/under record of 4-9 so far in 2018. Texas has an over/under record of 6-7-1.
The Rangers have lost 3.0 units and are 3-7 ATS when facing a right-handed starting pitcher this year. The over has cashed in four of those games, as opposed to five that’ve gone under in such games. On the other hand, the Astros have netted 3.0 units and are 3-0 ATS when facing a lefty starter. The over has hit in two of those games, compared to one that went under the total.
The left-handed Cole Hamels (1-2, 5.06 ERA) will get the start for the visiting Rangers. Hamels started 24 games last year while finishing the season 11-6 overall with a 4.20 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. He made two starts against the Astros in 2017 and put together a 1-1 record against them with a 5.40 ERA and eight strikeouts.
The Stros are turning to righty Gerrit Cole (1-0, 0.64 ERA), who recorded 196 strikeouts in 203 innings last year (33 starts). Cole finished the season 12-12 overall with a 4.26 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP.
As a unit, Houston’s pitchers have allowed 2.9 runs per game overall this year. Its starters have a 2.81 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and 11.5 strikeouts per nine innings. The bullpen has a solid ERA of just 2.14, a WHIP of 1.07 and a K/9 of 10.1. In four games against AL West foes, Astros starters have an ERA of 2.22 and the bullpen’s ERA is 4.22.
The Houston hitters are putting up 4.5 runs per contest, including 5.5 per game against divisional foes and 3.2 per game over their last five. The team has slashed .238/.335/.311 over its last five games and is 3-2 SU during that span.
The Astros’ batters have been led by outfielder Josh Reddick and shortstop Carlos Correa. Reddick is slashing .323/.462/.613 with 10 hits, seven RBIs and eight runs scored, and Correa’s line is .317/.340/.561 with 13 hits, 10 RBIs and 10 runs.
Compared to his overall season slash line of .314/.363/.484, Reddick did not do very well against left-handed pitching at home last year, slashing .250/.302/.375 over 43 such plate appearances.
In the other dugout, Texas’ pitchers have allowed 5.5 runs per game and its starters own a 5.64 ERA, 1.70 WHIP and 8.60 K/9. The bullpen has an ERA of 4.11, along with a K-per-9 of 8.05.
Rangers hitters have slashed .230/.309/.348 on their way to 3.1 runs scored per game in 2018, including 2.7 runs per game against divisional foes and 3.0 per game over the team’s last five outings (1-4 SU).
Elvis Andrus and Shin-soo Choo have led Texas’ hitters. Andrus is slashing .327/.426/.500 with 17 hits, five RBIs and seven runs scored, while Choo (.264/.339/.491) is up to 14 hits, three homers, six RBIs and six runs scored.
Texas Rangers vs. Houston Astros Prediction
Predictions: SU Winner – Astros, ATS Winner – Rangers, O/U – OVER
Betting Trends
- The Rangers have lost five of their last six games SU.
- Houston has posted 21.2 Runs + Hits + Errors per game over its last 10 outings and 18.8 over its last five.
- Each team has hit seven home runs over its last 10 outings.
