Astros vs. Rangers Pick
Can the Houston Astros count on their ace to get back on track today when they take on the Texas Rangers at 3:05PM ET?
According to oddsmakers at Bovada.lv, Houston is favored on the road today, as the Astros are getting odds of -155 to win. The Rangers are listed with a money line of +130 to win, while the over/under total has been set at 11 runs.
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Today’s pitching matchup has Dallas Keuchel (9-2, 2.87 ERA) on the mound for Houston to face Andrew Cashner (7-8, 3.36) of the Rangers. Cashner has looked really good in his last two starts, allowing just two earned runs over 13 innings. Cashner has only 55 strikeouts with 43 walks this season and a 1.35 WHIP. Since returning from injury, Keuchel has been a mess. He has allowed 14 earned runs over three starts, a total of 12 innings. He gave up eight runs in four innings to the White Sox in his last start. On the season, Keuchel has 76 strikeouts with 26 walks and a 1.11 WHIP.
Texas has won the first two games in this series to add to the Astros current losing streak of five straight games. Texas picked up an 8-3 win on Saturday to improve to 56-59 on the season and 30-26 at home. Houston is now 71-45 overall and 38-20 on the road.
Texas jumped out early on Houston and never looked back last night. Mike Fiers allowed six runs in four innings to take his seventh loss of the season. Tyson Ross only lasted 5.2 innings and gave up three runs, but it was enough to get his third win. Adrian Beltre had three hits and drove in three runs to lead Texas while Mike Napoli had his 23rd home run of the year. Houston was led by J.D. Davis, who drove in two runs.
Houston is in a real funk and the Astros can’t count on Keuchel to get them out of it. He has not looked right since coming back from his injury and I don’t think it will be a quick fix today against a Texas team that is starting to hit the ball really well. Cashner has looked much more like a top-level pitcher than Keuchel as of late. I expect him to have another good outing today to lead Texas to another upset.
MLB DAILY PREDICTION: TEXAS RANGERS +130