American League West opponents will renew a Lone Star State rivalry Thursday night when the Houston Astros play host to the Texas Rangers at Minute Maid Park.
The Astros (24-14) have gone 2-3 over their last five contests, including having their 11-game win string snipped by Washington last Saturday. They lost to Boston in their last outing on Wednesday but still sit atop the division.
Texas (17-19) can be thanked in part for that, having come out on the right side of their last four. The Rangers swept the second-place Los Angeles Angels during that span.
This three-game bill will be an important one for Texas, who rests in the third spot in the grouping and could gain some ground with a win or two. When these teams first played this season, the Rangers took three of four in mid-April.
Shortstop Corey Seager, in his first campaign with the club, has been at the forefront for the Texas offense. He leads the team with .244 batting average, .322 on-base percentage, and eight home runs.
Big-money contracts haven’t translated to production for everybody, however. Second baseman Marcus Semien, another offseason import, has had his troubles at the dish. He has only a .173 average.
Over the last week, right fielder Kole Calhoun has warmed up some, putting up a .450 average, three homers, and eight RBIs during that time frame.
Rangers at Astros Odds
MLB odds have the Astros as the favorites in this matchup. Houston is -1.5 on the run line at +104, while the Rangers are -125 to cover the spread.
On the money line, the Astros are -205 and Texas a +172 underdog. The total has been set at 8.5 runs, with the over being -110 and the under the same at the time of this writing.
Neither team has done particularly fantastic with their bats. Houston ranks 19th with a .229 collective average, while Texas isn’t far behind, rated 26th with a .222 mark.
The Astros, however, have 56 dingers, which is tops in the major leagues. Four different Houston batters — left fielder Yordan Alvarez, second baseman Jose Altuve, right fielder Kyle Tucker, and shortstop Jeremy Peña — have at least seven long balls. Alvarez’s dozen are good enough for second-most in the bigs.
MLB bettors should be sure to consider this sort of display of power.
Matchup Information
Rangers at Astros Betting Preview
The home team will trot out fifth-year lefty Framber Valdez, who has turned in a 2.93 ERA and 2-2 record to this point. Last time out, at Washington, he had an impressive showing, giving up only one earned run in 7.2 frames of work. The Astros rolled over the Nationals by a 6-1 final.
Houston has won his last pair of starts.
Texas will put Glenn Otto on the hill. He’ll look to improve on a dismal start to the season. He has a 6.38 ERA and lost his last outing, at Boston, after giving up eight earned runs in four innings.
Rangers at Astros Picks and Predictions
The Astros were two-hit by Boston’s Nick Pivetta on Wednesday, which gives a productive lineup even more reason to put on a show.
With a relatively inexperienced hurler on the mound for the Rangers, things could get out of hand if Houston plays anywhere near the level they did the day before, on Tuesday.
In that performance, the Astros tied a big-league record for homers in one frame with five. MLB betting trends will lean toward the home crew, with Valdez also getting the nod. Texas will have to do what it did earlier in the year and find a way to beat him.
This should be one of the more predictable MLB picks today. Both Houston units will find a way to fire on all cylinders. Expect to see a few long balls to go with a good outing from Valdez.
Get to betting on baseball and take the Astros to win outright and cover the spread.
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