Rangers vs Astros Odds & Predictions for Sunday Night Baseball (April 16)

The Houston Astros will host the Texas Rangers at 7:08 ET on Sunday Night Baseball in the rubber game of a three-game series at Minute Maid Part.

The Astros (7-8, 4-5 home) beat the Rangers 8-2 on Saturday night for their fourth win in the last six games. Texas (8-6, 2-3 road) had won four of its previous five games.

The game will be televised by ESPN.

Rangers vs Astros Odds

The Houston Astros are -195 favorites on the moneyline over the Texas Rangers on Sunday Night Baseball in the MLB odds, giving them an implied win probability of 66.1%. The Astros are the favorites in the World Series championship odds at +600 while the Rangers are listed at +4500.

Odds as of April 15th at DraftKings Sportsbook.

Rangers vs Astros Probable Pitchers

Andrew Heaney (1-1, 8.22) will start for the Rangers against fellow left-hander Framber Valdez (1-1, 1.89). Both will be pitching on five days of rest.

Heaney vs Valdez

Heaney was outstanding in his last start, tying an American League record with nine strikeouts in a row as he beat the Kansas City Royals on Monday at home for his first win of the season. Signed as a free agent over the winter, Heaney allowed one unearned run and two hits in five innings with 10 strikeouts and two walks.

Heaney is 3-4 in his career versus the Astros with a 3.54 ERA in 11 starts.

In away games, Heaney has a 4.95 career ERA, compared to 4.30 in home games. He pitches much worse at night (4.88) than in day games (3.82).

Valdez is also coming off his first win of 2023 as he beat the Pirates on Monday night in Pittsburgh with five uneven innings. Hye gave up three runs (two earned) on seven hits while striking out five and walking two.

He will be making his 14 career appearance and 11 start against the Rangers. Valdez, who is listed at +2000 in the AL Cy Young odds, has a 6-3 record and 2.55 ERA against the cross-state rivals.

Valdez’s career home ERA (3.39) is close to his road mark (3.26). However, there is a significant split in his home (3.55) and road (2.90) ERAs.

Batting Average vs Starting Pitchers

Rangers utility player Ezequiel Duran is 3 for 9 with a double and home run off Valdez. However, left fielder Robbie Grossman is 1 for 10 (.100).

Astros first baseman Jose Abreu has four hits in 11 at-bats (.364) against Heaney and all have been homers. Martin Maldonado is just a .182 hitter (2 for 11) against Heaney and has struck out five times.

Rangers vs Astros Betting Trends

Yordan Alvarez drove in three runs with a two-RBI double and bases-loaded walk to lead the Astros over the Rangers on Saturday night. Jeremy Pena and Mauricio Dubon each had two hits with Pena hitting a two-run double.

Alvarez has AL MVP odds of +1200.

Astros center fielder Chas McCormick (blurred vision) is expected to miss his second straight game.

The Rangers got two hits from Travis Jankowski.

Rangers vs Astros Last 10 Games

The Astros have a whopping 71-36 lead in the series since the start of the 2017 season.

Rangers vs Astros Prediction

Heaney was dominant at times in his last outing, but the Astros’ lineup is much more fearsome than that of the Royals.

Pick: Astros -195 ML

Season Record: 9-3 (+5.0 units) ML