To get a four-game American League slate underway, the Detroit Tigers will play host to the Texas Rangers Thursday night. This is the first time that these two groups have crossed paths this year. After not meeting in 2020, Detroit dispatched the Rangers in six of their seven tilts a season ago.
The Tigers (24-38) have dropped four in a row, being held scoreless on two occasions. In MLB standings, they sit behind three teams in the AL Central. They’re 11.5 games behind division-leading Minnesota.
Meanwhile, Texas (29-33) has come out on the right side of three of five, their two losses coming to Houston, who is perched atop their grouping. By 9.5 games, the Rangers are separated from the Astros – who have more wins than any AL team but the New York Yankees.
Texas Rangers finds itself where it is almost in spite of its offensive production. Only four AL squads have lower than their .234 average at the dish.
Over the last seven days, right fielder Adolis Garcia has found a bit of a groove, hitting .440, scoring five runs, and swatting a pair of long balls. For the campaign, he has a .248 average and paces the Rangers with 41 runs driven in.
Wearing an away uniform, first baseman Nathaniel Lowe leads the team in the batter’s box. He has a .343/.384/.524 slash line while also smacking ten extra-base hits.
On the mound, Texas has pinned up a 3.87 team ERA and a 1.29 WHIP, which rates in the bottom third of the bigs.
Rangers at Tigers Odds
It’s to be expected that the Rangers are the ones favored with these MLB odds. Texas is -1.5 on the run line at +115, while the Tigers are -138 to cover the spread.
On the moneyline, the Rangers are -142 and Detroit a +120 underdog. The total has been set at nine runs, with the over being +100 and the under -122 at the time of this writing.
MLB betting trends have had to consider first baseman Miguel Cabrera’s offensive talents for some time now. As a 39-year-old, he steers the ship, leading the Tigers in batting average (.289), RBIs (21), and on-base percentage (.328).
Of those with at least 180 at-bats, second baseman Jonathan Schoop is the nearest in terms of production. Seeing his .190 mark, it doesn’t come as all that much of a surprise that Detroit has the fourth-worst hitting offense in the MLB. Shortstop Javier Baez (.188) and rookie first baseman Spencer Torkelson (.178) haven’t provided much help, either.
If the Detroit Tigers want to get it going, Cabrera can’t be all they can rely on.
Matchup Information
Rangers at Tigers Betting Preview
Beau Brieske, a 24-year-old righty, will take the mound for the Tigers, looking to improve upon a 1-5 ledger so far.
The last time he pitched, Brieske netted his first major league win, a 3-1 triumph against Toronto. To stack another victory on that, he’ll have to post a similar stat line to his last, in which he kept the Blue Jays off the scoreboard. It was the first time he posted zeroes in any of his MLB matchups.
For Texas, it will be Martin Perez, the owner of a 2.18 ERA – which grades out as the eighth-lowest in the majors. Back with the Rangers after stops in Boston and Minnesota, he’ll try to rebound from a rocky start against the Chicago White Sox last Saturday.
He gave up six earned runs in what – luckily for him – wound up an 11-9 Texas win in extra innings.
Texas Rangers at Detroit Tigers Picks and Predictions
The Rangers make sense with these MLB picks today. Detroit is struggling mightily when it comes to put together a full effort, and the combination of poor pitching and a rough time at the dish will contribute to their shortcomings.
When betting on baseball today, take the visiting Rangers to cover the spread.
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