Houston Astros vs. Texas Rangers ALCS Game 2 odds, tips and betting trends

Sportsbook Wire

16 October 2023

Houston Astros vs. Texas Rangers ALCS Game 2 odds, tips and betting trends

The Houston Astros host the Texas Rangers in the second game of the ALCS on Monday at 4:37 PM ET at Minute Maid Park. The Rangers have a 1-0 series lead.

The favored Astros (-120 moneyline odds to win) take the field at home against the Rangers (+101). The probable starters are Framber Valdez (12-11, 3.45 ERA) for the Astros against Nathan Eovaldi (12-5, 3.63 ERA) for the Rangers.

These squads meet again after the Rangers’ 2-0 victory over the Astros yesterday. Jordan Montgomery (6.1 IP, 0 R, 5 H, 6 K) earned the win for the Rangers. Leody Taveras went 2-for-2 with a home run and an RBI to lead the team on offense. Justin Verlander (6.2 IP, 2 R, 6 H, 5 K) was credited with the loss on the mound for the Astros.

Ahead of watching the Astros vs. Rangers, here is what you need to know about Monday’s playoff action, including viewing options.

Houston Astros vs. Texas Rangers odds and betting lines

BetMGM Sportsbook. Odds updated Monday at 3:16 PM ET. For a full list of sports betting odds, access USA TODAY Sports Betting Scores Odds Hub.

Favorite: Astros (-120, bet $120 to win $100)
Underdog: Rangers (+101, bet $100 to win $101)
Over/under: 8.5

This season, the Astros have won 62 out of the 121 games, or 51.2%, in which they’ve been favored.
Houston is 58-49 this season when entering a game favored by -120 or more on the moneyline.
Oddsmakers have implied with the moneyline set for this matchup that the Astros have a 54.5% chance to win.
Houston and its opponents have hit the over in 86 of its 167 games with a total this season.
The Astros are 84-83-0 ATS in their 167 games with a spread this season.

Valdez (12-11 with a 3.45 ERA and 200 strikeouts in 198 2/3 innings pitched) gets the start for the Astros, his 32nd of the season.
The lefty’s last time out was on Monday, Oct. 9 against the Minnesota Twins, when he went 4 1/3 innings, surrendering five earned runs while allowing seven hits.
In 31 games this season, the 29-year-old has put up an ERA of 3.45, with 9.1 strikeouts per nine innings. Opponents are hitting .228 against him.
Valdez is trying to collect his 21st quality start of the season in this matchup.
Valdez enters this game with 28 outings of five or more innings pitched this campaign.
In six of his appearances this season he did not surrender an earned run.
He will face a Rangers offense that ranks third in the league with 881 runs while batting .263 as a unit. It has a collective .452 slugging percentage (third in MLB action) and has hit a total of 233 home runs (third in MLB).
Head-to-head against the Rangers this season, Valdez has pitched 16 2/3 innings, giving up eight earned runs on 18 hits while striking out 12.
The 29-year-old ranks 15th in ERA (3.45), 13th in WHIP (1.126), and 22nd in K/9 (9.1) among qualifying pitchers in MLB action this season.

The Astros rank seventh in Major League Baseball with 222 home runs.
Hitters for Houston have a combined .437 slugging percentage this season, which ranks sixth in MLB.
The Astros rank fourth in MLB with a .259 team batting average.
Houston has scored the fifth-most runs in the majors this season with 827.
The Astros have an on-base percentage of .331 this season, which ranks fourth in the league.
Houston ranks third in MLB in strikeouts per game with an average of 7.7 whiffs per contest.

The Rangers have won in 29, or 52.7%, of the 55 contests they have been named as odds-on underdogs this year.
This year, Texas has won 19 of 38 games when listed as at least +101 or worse on the moneyline.
The moneyline set for this matchup implies the Rangers have a 49.8% chance of walking away with the win.
Texas and its opponents have gone over in 85 of its 168 games with a total set by sportsbooks this season.
The Rangers have an against the spread record of 94-74-0 in 168 games with a line this season.

Eovaldi (12-5) takes the mound first for the Rangers in his 26th start of the season. He’s put together a 3.63 ERA in 144 2/3 innings pitched, with 132 strikeouts.
His last time out came on Wednesday against the Baltimore Orioles, when the right-hander threw seven innings, surrendering one earned run while allowing five hits.
The 33-year-old has a 3.63 ERA and 8.3 strikeouts per nine innings during 25 games this season, while giving up a batting average of .225 to opposing batters.
Eovaldi is trying for his third straight quality start.
Eovaldi will try to build on a three-game streak of lasting five or more innings (he’s averaging 5.8 frames per outing).
In eight of his 25 total appearances this season he has not surrendered an earned run.
The opposing Astros offense has the sixth-ranked slugging percentage (.437) and ranks seventh in home runs hit (222) in all of MLB. They have a collective .259 batting average, and are third in the league with 1441 total hits and fifth in MLB action scoring 827 runs.
Eovaldi has thrown 8 1/3 innings, giving up four earned runs on seven hits while striking out six against the Astros this season.

The Rangers are third in MLB play with 233 home runs. They average 1.4 per game.
This season, Texas is third in the majors with a .452 slugging percentage.
The Rangers have the second-best batting average in the league (.263).
Texas is the third-highest scoring team in MLB, averaging 5.4 runs per game (881 total).
The Rangers are third in the majors with an on-base percentage of .337.