Rangers vs. Astros Pick
Will the Texas Rangers find a way to get past the Houston Astros when the two AL West foes meet up tonight at 8:10PM ET?
According to oddsmakers at Bodava.lv, the Astros are the favorite in this game, as they are getting odds of -175 to win, while the Rangers are getting a money line of +160. The over/under total for the game is listed at 8.5 runs.
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Today’s pitching matchup has Nick Martinez (0-0, 2.77 ERA) on the mound for the Rangers to face Charlie Morton (2-2, 4.50) of the Astros. Martinez has pitched just two starts, but he has gone 13 innings combined with 10 strikeouts and just one walk while allowing nine hits. He has given up just four earned runs in the two starts as well. Morton has gone at least five innings in each of his starts this year, but he has allowed nine earned runs over his last two outings. He does have 31 strikeouts over 28 innings, but has a WHIP of 1.36.
Houston picked up an 8-7 win over the Rangers on Tuesday night. The Astros have won both meetings with the Rangers this season. Houston is now 18-9 on the season and 11-5 at home while Texas is 11-16 overall and 3-8 on the road.
A five-run eighth inning lifted Houston to the win on Tuesday night. Marwin Gonzalez had a grand slam in the eighth and he also had a solo home run earlier in the game. Carlos Beltran also had three hits in the win for Houston. Jonathan Lucroy and Nomar Mazara both had two RBI for the Rangers and they combined for five hits. Keone Kala allowed four runs in the eighth inning for Texas to allow Houston to get the lead.
Oddsmakers aren’t giving Martinez much chance today, but he has been giving the Rangers solid outings so far. Morton has had back-to-back shaky outings and the Rangers need a win today. After dropping the first two to Houston, Texas is desperate to avoid falling more than five games below .500. Texas has historically had success against Houston, winning 72 of the last 102 meetings. I like the Rangers as the dog to find a way to win.
MLB DAILY PREDICTION: TEXAS RANGERS +160