The Texas Rangers are heading north to face the Chicago White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field. The opening pitch is scheduled for 8:10 p.m. ET and NBC Sports Chicago will televise this AL matchup.
Texas Rangers at Chicago White Sox Odds
Chicago (+115) is coming into this one as the underdog against Texas (-125) and oddsmakers have the Over/Under for this one at 9 runs (-115 for the over and -105 for the under). Runline odds stand at +120 for betting the Rangers -1.5 runs and -140 for the White Sox +1.5.
The Rangers are 17-27 SU and have gone 17-26 against the spread (ATS). They’ve lost 3.9 units for moneyline gamblers in the seasons early going and 13.2 units ATS. The White Sox, on the other hand, are 10-29 SU and 18-20 ATS. The teams lost 15.7 units for bettors taking the moneyline and 6.3 units ATS.
White Sox games have an over/under record of 19-17-2 so far in 2018. The Rangers have an over/under record of 22-18-3.
Southpaw Cole Hamels is getting the nod for Texas. Hamels is 2-4 with a 3.48 ERA and 57 strikeouts. He has yet to face the White Sox this year and only made one start against them in 2017 (1-0, 2.70 ERA and six strikeouts across 6.2 innings).
The White Sox will put the ball in the right hand of James Shields (1-4, 5.44 ERA), who’s got 28 strikeouts and 22 walks as well as a 1.38 WHIP. Shields only made one start against the Rangers in 2017 (0-0, 3.38 ERA and six strikeouts across five and 1-third innings).
Chicago’s pitchers have yielded 5.7 runs per game overall in 2018 as a unit. The clubs starting pitching staff has an ERA of 5.94, a WHIP of 1.54 and a strikeouts-per-nine of 5.7. The bullpen has a 4.56 ERA, 1.58 WHIP and 9.4 K/9.
The Chicago offense has produced 3.8 runs per outing, including 3.5 per game over its last 10 games and 2.6 per game over its last five. The team has a slash-line of .212/.282/.327 over its last five matchups and is 1-4 SU during that stretch.
The White Sox batters have been led by Matt Davidson and Jose Abreu. Davidson is slashing .250/.370/.567 with 11 home runs, 24 RBIs and 18 runs scored, and Abreu’s line is .287/.349/.487 with seven homers, 21 RBIs and 19 runs.
Compared to his total season slash line of .304/.354/.552, Abreu appeared to enjoy facing lefties last season, slashing .356/.402/.631 across 164 plate appearances.
In the visiting dugout, Texas pitching staff allowed 5.3 runs per game and its starters own a 5.14 ERA, 1.46 WHIP and 7.18 K/9. The bullpen has an ERA of 4.29, along with a WHIP of 1.46 and a K/9 of 8.29.
The Rangers offense has slashed .230/.300/.389 on its way to 4.0 runs scored per game this year, including 3.8 runs per game over the teams last 10 games and 3.2 per game over the teams last five contests (2-3 SU).
Outfielder Nomar Mazara and third baseman Adrian Beltre have led Texas hitters. Mazara is slashing .279/.335/.509 with 10 home runs, 26 RBIs and 24 runs scored, while Beltre is hitting .314/.375/.422 with one homers, 12 RBIs and 11 runs scored.
Maintaining a slash line of .206/.276/.360 across 301 plate appearances, Mazara did not perform especially well on the road last season (compared to his overall season slash line of .253/.323/.422).
The Rangers have lost 0.5 units and are 13-17 ATS when facing a righty starter this season. The over has cashed in 15 of those games, compared to 14 that’ve gone under in such games. On the other hand, the White Sox have lost 4.8 units and are 4-5 ATS when facing a left-handed starting pitcher. The over has hit in six of those games, compared to three that’ve cashed the under.
Texas Rangers vs. Chicago White Sox Free Prediction
Predictions: SU Winner – Rangers, ATS Winner – Rangers, O/U – OVER
Betting Trends
- The under has cashed in three of Texas last seven games.
- The White Sox have lost nine of their last 10 games SU.
- Texas has posted 17.8 Runs + Hits + Errors per game over its last 10 outings and 16.8 over its last five.
- The Rangers have hit 11 home runs in their last 10 games. The White Sox have hit 12 over their last 10.
