Rangers vs. Astros Pick
Will the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros put up a lot of runs when the two AL West foes meet up tonight at 8:10PM ET?
According to oddsmakers at Bodava.lv, the Astros are the clear favorite in this game, as they are getting odds of -215 to win, while the Rangers are getting a money line of +175. The over/under total for the game is listed at 8.5 runs. These two have yet to meet this season.
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Today’s pitching matchup features Andrew Cashner (0-2, 2.93 ERA) on the mound for the Rangers to face Lance McCullers Jr. (2-1, 4.34) of the Astros. Cashner has been largely respectable. He had a six-inning scoreless outing against the Royals on April 20 and is coming off a four-inning outing against the Twins where he allowed just two runs, but had six walks. His WHIP is 1.70 despite his ERA being below 3.00. McCullers is coming off a tough outing against Cleveland last week. He allowed seven hits and five runs in five innings of work. His WHIP this season is just 1.31, but his ERA is over 4.00.
Texas is coming off a 5-2 loss to the Angels on Sunday to drop to 11-14 on the season. The Rangers are 3-6 on the road and 15-10 with the under. They have hit the under in eight of their last 10 games as well. Texas puts up 4.56 runs per game while allowing 4.24 per game. As a team, the Rangers are hitting just .220. Shin-Soo Choo is hitting .274 with three home runs and 11 RBI to lead the team while Joey Gallo has seven home runs with 16 RBI, but is hitting just .213.
Houston is coming off a 7-2 win over the Athletics on Sunday to move to 16-9 on the season. The Astros are 9-5 at home and 13-12 with the over. They have hit the over in six of their last nine games. Houston is putting up 4.48 runs per game while allowing just 3.56. As a team, Houston hits an impressive .272. Yuri Gurriel is leading the team with a .329 average while Jose Altuve hits .326 with three home runs. George Springer has seven home runs and 14 RBI, but is batting only .230.
McCullers should be able to bounce back on the mound today against this Texas lineup that isn’t producing a lot of hits. Cashner flirts with disaster with his high WHIP, especially against a team that hits for a high average, but the Astros don’t produce a lot of runs. I think Cashner can work out of some jams and both bullpens should be able to hold down the opponents enough for these two to hit the under.
MLB DAILY PREDICTION: RANGERS/ASTROS UNDER 8.5