Elvis Andrus and the Texas Rangers will travel a few hours downstate to Minute Maid Park to face their divisional nemesis Houston Astros. ATTSN Southwest will be airing the matchup and the game gets underway at 8:10 p.m. ET.
Texas Rangers vs. Houston Astros Odds
Sportsbooks have Texas (+240) as the underdog to Houston (-280). You can play matchup’s total with current odds posted at -110 for over 8.5 runs and -110 for under 8.5. There’s a runline of Rangers +1.5 (+115) and Astros -1.5 (-135) for this matchup.
The Astros are 98-53 straight up (SU) and 81-70 against the spread (ATS). The team hasn’t moved the needle a lot for gamblers, gaining 2.7 units for bettors taking the moneyline while gaining 0.3 units ATS. Houston has covered the spread four times in its last seven games and the under has hit in four of those seven. The Rangers are 74-77 SU and have gone 82-69 ATS. In total, the club has gained 8.8 units for moneyline gamblers and 3.3 units ATS. Texas is 3-4 ATS over its last seven games and the total has gone over in four of those seven.
Astros games have a 68-78-5 over/under record in 2019. The Rangers have also been a good under bet with a total record of 68-80-3.
The right-handed Lance Lynn will get the start for the visiting Rangers. Lynn is 14-10 with a 3.72 ERA and 216 strikeouts. He’s 1-2 with 31 strikeouts and a 3.00 ERA against Houston this year (three starts).
The Astros are putting the ball in the hands of righty Justin Verlander (18-6, 2.58 ERA), who has 275 punchouts and 38 walks as well as a 0.78 WHIP. Verlander is 4-0 with 39 strikeouts and a 2.70 ERA across five starts against Texas this year.
Texas’ pitchers have allowed 5.3 runs per game and its starters own a 5.23 ERA, 1.46 WHIP and 8.35 K/9. The bullpen has an ERA of 4.63, along with a K-per-9 of 8.77.
The Rangers offense has slashed .247/.321/.429 on its way to 5.0 runs scored per game in 2019, including 5.2 runs per game against divisional foes and 6.4 per game over the team’s last five outings (2-3 SU).
Elvis Andrus and Shin-soo Choo have paced Texas’ hitters. The speedy Andrus is slashing .272/.311/.387 with 10 home runs, 67 RBIs, 73 runs and 28 stolen bases, while Choo is hitting .268 with 22 homers, 57 RBIs and 85 runs scored.
In the home-team dugout, Houston’s pitchers have given up 4.0 runs per game overall in 2019. Its starters have a 3.67 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 10.5 strikeouts per nine innings. The bullpen has a 3.85 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 9.8 K/9. In 65 games against divisional opponents, Astros starters have an ERA of 3.84 and the bullpen’s ERA is 3.53.
The Houston offense has put up 5.7 runs per contest, including 6.3 per game against divisional foes and 5.4 per game over its last five. The team has a slash-line of .264/.373/.472 over its last five contests and is 3-2 SU during that span.
Left fielder Michael Brantley and first baseman Yuli Gurriel have led the Astros’ batters this year. Brantley is hitting .321/.381/.516 with 21 home runs, 86 RBIs and 86 runs scored, and Gurriel’s line is .303/.347/.543 with 28 homers, 99 RBIs and 80 runs scored.
The Rangers have gained 8.0 units and are 53-43 ATS when facing a righty starter this season. The over has hit in 43 of those games, compared to 52 that’ve gone under in such games. On the other hand, the Astros have lost 9.5 units and are 57-51 ATS when facing a right-handed starting pitcher. The over’s hit in 53 of those games, as opposed to 52 which went under the total.
Rangers vs. Astros MLB Tip
Predictions: SU Winner – Astros, ATS Winner – Rangers, O/U – OVER
Betting Trends
- The under has hit in four of Houston’s last seven games.
- Texas has recorded 26.2 Runs + Hits + Errors per game over its last 10 outings and 24.4 over its last five.
- The Rangers have hit 13 home runs in their last 10 games. The Astros have hit 25 over their last 10.
- The Rangers have a team OPS of .750 this season and an OPS of .765 against right-handed pitchers. The Astros’ OPS stands at .852 overall and .833 against righties.
