Diamondbacks vs. Rangers prediction and odds for Tuesday, May 2

It finally happened, the Arizona Diamondbacks finally handed over the lead in the NL West to the LA Dodgers, but at 16-13 the Diamondbacks still had a very promising first month of the season for a team that may be further along than many had expected.

Meanwhile, the Texas Rangers are yet to relinquish their divisional lead to the the AL West’s perennial contenders, the Astros. The Rangers finished April 17-11 and pounded the Yankees 15-2 to finish off the first month of baseball.

These are two teams with the arrow pointed up, it’s just a matter of how long they can keep this up. For Game 1 of their three-game series the Diamondbacks will turn to their ace, Zac Gallen to make the start while the Rangers will hand the ball to Jon Gray. Gallen is 4-1 with a 2.15 ERA on the season and Gray is 1-1 with a 3.91 ERA.

Here are the odds for the Diamondbacks and the Rangers in Texas tonight.

Diamondbacks vs. Rangers odds, run line and total

Diamondbacks vs. Rangers prediction and pick

Zac Gallen is one of the favorites to win the NL Cy Young through the first full month of the season. He had two shaky starts to start, but across his last four outings he’s won all four and allowed zero runs, while striking out 41, walked one, and allowed 11 hits in 27.0 innings of work. He’s the most dominant pitcher in baseball right now and I can’t wait to watch him deal again tonight.

Last season, Gallen was good all year, but really took off in August when he began a streak of six straight scoreless outings. Since then, Gallen has made 17 starts, allowed 20 earned runs with 137 strikeouts to 20 walks. That’s an ERA of 1.63 for that stretch with 11.18 K/9 and 1.63 BB/9.

The Rangers have scored the second most runs in baseball this year with the fourth best team OPS. They’ve continued to produce even with Corey Seager on the IL. Over the last 15 days, a more recent sample, they are first in OPS, even with the Rays and first in runs scored with 90. Adolis Garcia is responsible for a lot of that production.

This is a big test for Zac Gallen, but it’s an even bigger test for the Rangers offense and I don’t think they or any other lineup in the league is ready to pass.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change