Yusei Kikuchi makes his second start as a member of the Houston Astros as they face the Texas Rangers. It's time to continue our MLB odds series with an Astros-Rangers prediction and pick.
Astros-Rangers Projected Starters
Yusei Kikuchi vs. Undecided
Yusei Kikuchi (4-9) with a 4.67 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP
Last Start: In his first start with the Astros, Kikuchi went 5.2 innings, giving up three hits, three walks, and a home run. He would give up two runs and strike out 11, taking the no-decision against the Rays.
2024 Road Splits: Kikuchi is 2-2 in ten road starts this year. He has a 4.69 ERA and a .293 opponent batting average.
Rangers may start the game with an opener.
Here are the MLB Odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Astros-Rangers Odds
Houston Astros: -1.5 (+130)
Moneyline: -120
Texas Rangers: +1.5 (-156)
Moneyline: +102
Over: 9 (-105)
Under: 9 (-115)
How to Watch Astros vs. Rangers
Time: 2:35 PM ET/11:35 AM PT
TV: SCHN/BSSW/MLBN
Stream: fuboTV (Click for free trial)
Why The Astros Will Cover The Spread/Win
The Astros are 13th in the majors in runs scored, while sitting third in batting average, 11th in on-base percentage, and 11th in slugging. Yanier Diaz has led the way this year. He is hitting .295 with a .324 on-base percentage. Diaz has ten home runs and 59 RBIs while scoring 47 times on the year. Yordan Alvarez is also having a great year. He is hitting .298 on the year with a .383 on-base percentage. He has 20 home runs and 55 RBIs while scoring 61 times. Rounding out the best bats in the year is Jose Altuve. Altuve is hitting .301 of the year with a .352 on-base percentage. He had 14 home runs and 47 RBIs while he has also stolen 15 bases and scored 62 times on the season.
Jeremy Pena has been driving in the most runs in the last week. He is hitting just .174 in the last week but has three RBIs and two runs scored. Hitting the best in the last week is Yanier Diaz. Diaz is hitting .429 in the last week with a home run and two RBIs. He has also scored three times. Yordan Alvarez has also been solid. he is hitting .286 with a .400 on-base percentage. He does not have an RBI but has scored three times. Overall, the Astors have hit just .188 over the last week, with four home runs and 14 runs scored.
Why The Rangers Will Cover The Spread/Win
The Rangers are 16th in runs scored while sitting 20th in batting average, 20th in on-base percentage, and 21st in slugging. Marcus Semien has been great this year. He is hitting .244 on the year with a .315 on-base percentage. He has 16 home runs and 56 RBIs while scoring 72 times. Meanwhile, Corey Seager has been sold as well. He is hitting .277 on the year with 23 home runs and 55 RBIs. Further, he has scored 56 runs. Rounding out the top bats is Adolis Garcia. Garcia is hitting just .209 with a .273 on-base percentage. He has 18 home runs, 54 RBIs, and 53 runs scored on the year.
Corey Seager has been hot in the last week. He hit .292 this week with four home runs and five RBIs. He has also scored five times in the last week. Leody Taveras has also been solid. He is hitting .273 with two home runs, four RBIs and two runs scored. Rounding out the hottest bats is Marcus Semien. He is hitting .27 this past week with a home run and three RBIs while scoring once in the last week. Still, the Rangers are hitting just .193 in the last week. They have hit 11 home runs and scored 21 times in the last week.
Current Rangers have 86 career at-bats against Yusei Kikuchi. They have hit .267 against him with five home runs. Adolis Garcia has two of those home runs. He is three for seven with two home runs and five RBIs. Meanwhile, Robbie Grossman has been great, going five for 11 against Kikuchi with a double, a home run, two RBIs, and two walks. Nathaniel Lowe has also been solid against Kikuchi, going three for six with a home run and three RBIs plus four walks. Marcus Semien has the most experience, going seven for 31 with a double and a home run, plus three RBIS.
Final Astros-Rangers Prediction & Pick
The Astros have struggled to score runs in the last week. They are averaging just over two runs per game. Meanwhile, the Rangers are scoring over three runs per game. Further, Kikuchi has not been great this year and is giving up plenty of runs. Take the Rangers to win in this one.
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Final Astros-Rangers Prediction & Pick: Rangers ML (+102)
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