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The battle for the AL West division is officially on the line as the Houston Astros and the Texas Rangers go head-to-head for all the marbles! Join us for our MLB odds series where our Astros-Rangers prediction and pick will be unveiled.
The Houston Astros were swept by the New York Yankees over the weekend in shocking fashion, but they were able to bounce back in a big way with a dominating 13-6 victory over the Rangers on Monday. Now, Houston enters Tuesday in a tie with the Seattle Mariners in first place. Getting the state for the ‘Stros will be Framber Valdez who is 10-9 with a 3.38 ERA.
After sitting out for more than seven weeks due to an ailment with his right arm, hurler Nathan Eovaldi is finally back to take the mound for the Rangers. Before he got injured, it was the 33-year-old who had been undergoing one of the better seasons in his career with an 11-3 record to go along with a tiny 2.69 ERA in 19 starts. Overall, the Texas Rangers have gone 4-6 in their last ten games overall and now trail the division lead by one game after spending the majority of the year in the first-place spot.
Here are the Astros-Rangers MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Astros-Rangers Odds
Houston Astros: -1.5 (+140)
Texas Rangers: +1.5 (-170)
Over: 8.5 (-120)
Under: 8.5 (-102)
How To Watch Astros vs. Rangers
TV: AT&T SportsNet Southwest/Bally Sports Southwest
Stream: MLB.TV
Time: 8:05 ET/5:05 PT
*Watch MLB games LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why The Astros Could Cover The Spread
Despite getting handed the broom by the Yankees during Labor Day weekend, the Astros' championship grit was on full display yesterday in the high-scoring 13-6 victory. Then again, this is a top-five offense on paper that has the ability to get after opposing pitching with the snap of their fingers. The two men who could be in for another big day at the plate will be Jose Altuve and Mauricio Dubon, who happened to hit back-to-back homers not just once but TWICE on their way to routing the Rangers. If these pair of dynamic hitters can stay hot, then Texas will continue to be in trouble.
Not to mention, but getting after Texas' bullpen in crunch time proved to be the deciding factor yesterday. In fact, the Astros scored a whopping ten runs off of this bullpen on Monday in what obviously ended up being the deciding factor. Whether it's starting off hot or ending the night strong, Houston is in a good place offensively.
On the other side of things, it may be a concern that Valdez has struggled against the Rangers this year en route to an 0-2 record and a 6.52 ERA, but Astros fans and bettors can breathe a sigh of relief knowing he has posted a 3.05 ERA in 15 appearances against the Rangers. The key in this one will indeed fall on the left arm of Valdez, so he will need to be sharp from the mound.
Why The Rangers Could Cover The Spread
How quickly the landscape of a season can change. For more than three months, the Texas Rangers had a firm grip on the AL West lead, but that has since evaporated. Since the middle of August, the Rangers have gone a horrendous 4-13 and have now found themselves in the thick of not only a crowded division race, but a jam-packed Wild Card chase as well. Regardless, Texas trails the season series versus Houston four games to seven and certainly need to put their foot in the ground over the next couple of days.
For starters, the one thing that did look fairly explosive was the offense, and for good reason. Simply put, the Rangers possess one of the better offenses in all of the country as they have scored the third-most runs and boast the second-best batting average that the majors have to offer. Despite the pitching staff taking several steps back over the past couple of weeks, the reliable bats of the Texas Rangers will most likely be the biggest reason why they cover in a do-or-die matchup in front of their home fans.
Of course, the Rangers need to step up pitching-wise or else things could get ugly. Taking a closer look at this unit as a whole, the arms within this clubhouse have been an above-average unit in 2023, but they will need to take that next step on Tuesday if they want to defeat their in-state rivals in a statement game.
Final Astros-Rangers Prediction & Pick
This is what makes our National Pastime so great! With the end of the regular season quickly approaching its conclusion, these type 0f divisional games mean that much more. With how close this AL West race currently is, it only makes sense to bet on the Rangers to bounce back and tie up this series in spread-covering fashion as underdogs.
Final Astros-Rangers Prediction & Pick: Rangers +1.5 (-170)
