Astros-Rangers prediction, pick, how to watch
The Houston Astros will try to win the rubber match of their series with the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Park. We are in Arlington, sharing our MLB odds series, making an Astros-Rangers prediction and pick while showing you how to watch.
The Rangers defeated the Astros 5-2 on Saturday to get a victory after falling on Friday. Now, they hope to win the series against their interstate and divisional rivals. It was scoreless in the third inning when Corey Seager singled to center field to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead. Next, Travis Jankowski clipped a single to left-center field to give the Rangers a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning. Marcus Semien singled to left-center field to score Jankowski to make it 3-0 Rangers. Later, Josh Jung doubled to give the Rangers a 4-0 lead in the seventh inning. They tacked on another run to make it 5-0.
The Astros finally got on the board in the ninth inning when Kyle Tucker belted a two-run bomb to deep right field to cut the deficit to 5-2. Unfortunately, the Astros ran out of steam and fell 5-2 to the Rangers.
Nathan Eovaldi had a great outing, tossing seven scoreless innings while allowing two hits and striking out five, and walking four for the Rangers. Conversely, Hunter Brown struggled for the Astros, going four innings while allowing three earned runs on 10 hits.
Shawn Dubin will take the mound for the Astros today and comes in with a record of 0-0 and a 10.80 ERA. Ultimately, his last appearance was on June 28, where he went two innings while allowing one earned run on two hits and striking out four. Andrew Heaney will get the start for the Rangers and comes in with a record of 5-5 and a 4.38 ERA. Recently, he went 5 2/3 innings while allowing six earned runs on six hits while striking out five and walking three in a loss to the Detroit Tigers.
Here are the Astros-Rangers MLB odds,
MLB Odds: Astros-Rangers Odds
Houston Astros: +1.5 (-170)
Texas Rangers: -1.5 (+140)
Over: 9 (-115)
Under: 9 (-105)
How To Watch Reds vs. Cubs
TV: Bally Sports Southwest
Stream: MLB TV and MLB Extra Innings
Time: 2:36 PM ET/11:36 AM PT
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Why The Astros Could Cover The Spread
The Astros hammered some runs on Friday. However, they could not muster much of anything on Saturday, as they struggled to hit the ball off Eovaldi. They plan to get back on track in the finale today with the goal of taking the series.
The lineup managed just four hits. Significantly, Jose Altuve went 0 for 4 with one strikeout. Alex Bregman went 1 for 3 with a strikeout. Meanwhile, Tucker went 2 for 4 with a home run and two RBIs. Likewise, Jose Abreu went 0 for 3, while Yandy Diaz went 1 for 3. But the bottom of the lineup combined to go 0 for 10. Sadly, they could not handle the Texas peaching and struggled to put the ball in play.
Brown's struggles forced the bullpen into the game early in the fifth inning. Ultimately, they struggled to stay clean, allowing two earned runs which ultimately helped put the game out of reach.
The Astros will cover the spread if they can batter the baseball. Then, they also must avoid making mistakes to Texas hitters.
Why The Rangers Could Cover The Spread
The Rangers cobbled together some hits and helped themselves to five runs. Ironically, they still left 11 runners on the basepaths. So they could have scored more runners than the five that eventually came across.
Marcus Semien went 3 for 4 with an RBI for the Rangers. Meanwhile, Seager went 2 for 4. Nathaniel Lowe went 1 for 5. Likewise, Adolis Garcia went 1 for 5 . Jung went 1 for 4. Regardless, the rest of the lineup produced inconsistent results when putting the ball in play. There was a lot of missed opportunities for the Rangers that could have proved disasterous had their starting pitching not been so good.
The bullpen avoided near catastrophe as they allowed two earned runs in the ninth. However, Will Smith came into the game to record the final out to preserve the victory for the Rangers. It was a close call for a team that has had struggles with the bullpen all season long.
The Rangers will cover the spread if they can get a good quality start from Heaney. Then, the hitters need to take advantage of their opportunities and not leave so many runners on base.
Final Astros-Rangers Prediction & Pick
Heaney is not the greatest pitcher in the game. However, he is miles better than the spot starter the Astros are throwing out there. Expect the Rangers' bats to connect on some pitches and make Dubin pay for any mistakes he makes over the plate.
Final Astros-Rangers Prediction & Pick: Texas Rangers: -1.5 (+140)
