The Texas Rangers will be facing off against their divisional rival Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park. ATTSN Southwest will be showing the matchup and the game will get underway at 7:10 p.m. ET.
Texas Rangers at Houston Astros Odds
Houston (-250) is favored against Texas (+225) and oddsmakers have the Over/Under for this night game at 8.5 runs. Odds for wagering on the games total stand at -110 for both the over and the under. You can also wager on the games spread with the runline odds sitting at +100 for the Rangers +1.5 runs and -120 for the Astros -1.5 runs.
The Rangers have gone 16-24 SU this year and are 15-24 against the spread (ATS). They’ve lost 3.1 units for moneyline bettors in this young season and 13.2 units ATS. The Astros, on the other hand, are 24-16 SU and 20-19 ATS. The team has lost 2.4 units for bettors taking the moneyline and 1.6 units ATS.
Astros games have an over/under record of 14-23-2 so far in 2018. Texas has been a decent over bet with a total record of 21-15-3.
Doug Fister is getting the start for the visiting Rangers. The right-handed Fister is 1-3 with a 4.02 ERA and 25 strikeouts. He’s 1-0 with three strikeouts and a 1.80 ERA against Houston this year.
The Astros will put the ball in the right hand of Charlie Morton (4-0, 2.16 ERA), who’s got 48 strikeouts and 17 walks as well as a 1.03 WHIP. Morton is 0-0 with 12 strikeouts and a 3.00 ERA over one starts against Texas this year.
As a unit, Houston’s pitchers have yielded 2.7 runs per game overall in 2018. The clubs starters have a 2.33 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 10.6 strikeouts per nine innings. The bullpen has recorded a solid ERA of just 3.14, a WHIP of 1.08 and a K/9 of 9.8. In 21 games against divisional foes, Astros starters have an ERA of 2.35 and the bullpens ERA is 3.71.
The Houston offense has produced 4.8 runs per contest, including 5.1 per game against divisional foes and 5.0 per game over its last five. The team has slashed .281/.350/.478 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 hitters so far. Springer is slashing .296/.363/.506 with eight home runs, 26 RBIs and 33 runs scored, and Correa’s line is .292/.370/.489 with five homers, 25 RBIs and 24 runs scored.
In the visiting dugout, Texas pitching staff allowed 5.3 runs per game and its starters own a 5.13 ERA, 1.46 WHIP and 7.15 K/9. The bullpen has logged an ERA of 4.30, along with a WHIP of 1.46.
Rangers hitters have slashed .233/.305/.396 on their way to 4.0 runs scored per game this year, including 3.2 runs per game against divisional foes and 3.6 per game over the teams last five contests (3-2 SU).
Right fielder Nomar Mazara and first baseman Joey Gallo have led Texas hitters. Mazara is slashing .299/.360/.551 with 10 home runs, 26 RBIs and 23 runs scored, while Gallo is slashing .208/.292/.493 with 12 homers, 25 RBIs and 23 runs scored.
Compared to his overall season slash line of .253/.323/.422, Mazara didn’t do as well batting on the road last year, putting up a slash line of .206/.276/.360 across 301 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 gone under against righties. On the other hand, the Astros have lost 1.8 units and are 13-13 ATS when facing a right-handed starting pitcher. The over has hit in nine of those games, as opposed to 16 which went under the total.
Texas Rangers vs. Houston Astros MLB Prediction
Predictions: SU Winner – Astros, ATS Winner – Rangers, O/U – OVER
Betting Notes
- The under has hit in five of Houston’s last seven games.
- The Texas defense has allowed 11 errors over the last 10 games, compared to six errors for Houston over its last 10.
- The Rangers have hit 17 home runs in their last 10 games. The Astros have hit nine over their last 10.
