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The Texas Rangers take on the Arizona Diamondbacks. Our MLB odds series has our Rangers Diamondbacks prediction and pick. Find out how to watch Rangers Diamondbacks.
The Arizona Diamondbacks are a volatile team, but right now, that's not a bad thing. This team was 16 games over .500 in June and was 13 games over .500 at the All-Star break. On Friday, July 14, this team was 52-39. Four weeks later, the D-Backs had a losing record. They went 5-19 in a 24-game stretch to fall to 57-58. Their season was slipping away, but the one thing saving them was the mediocrity of the National League, with hardly any other wild card contenders making a notable upward push. The Philadelphia Phillies have been okay, but not great. They're 11 games over .500 on August 22 and look fairly good (but hardly completely safe) in the wild card chase. The team currently in the No. 2 wild card slot in the National League — the Chicago Cubs — is just six games over .500 at 65-59 and will probably win fewer than 89 games. That's mediocre by normal playoff standards. A strong playoff team should have at least 90 wins and generally be 20 games over .500 (91-71 by season's end). The National League wild card race is so tight and dramatic because no one has been able to separate, and that's keeping the Diamondbacks in the hunt.
After that atrocious four-week stretch, the Diamondbacks have managed to get off the canvas and win again. They're 8-2 in their last 10 games. They just won a remarkable game over the Texas Rangers on Monday night in Phoenix. They trailed 1-0 in the bottom of the ninth and were two outs from losing when Ketel Marte homered off Aroldis Chapman to tie the game. Arizona trailed 3-1 with two outs in the bottom of the 11th when Texas manager Bruce Bochy inexplicably walked Marte, the tying run. Two doubles, the second one by Tommy Pham, won the game for Arizona, 4-3. The D-Backs won on a night when they were blanked for eight innings by Texas starter Jordan Montgomery. That game sets the stage for the second game of this short series in Arizona.
Here are the Rangers-Diamondbacks MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Rangers-Diamondbacks Odds
Texas Rangers: -1.5 (+180)
Arizona Diamondbacks: +1.5 (-220)
Over: 8.5 (-110)
Under: 8.5 (-110)
How To Watch Rangers vs. Diamondbacks
TV: Bally Sports Southwest (Rangers) / MLB (Diamondbacks) / MLB Extra Innings
Stream: MLB.tv
Time: 9:40 p.m. ET/6:40 p.m. PT
*Watch Rangers-Diamondbacks LIVE on fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why The Rangers Could Cover The Spread
The Rangers send Jon Gray to the mound. He is one of several Texas starters who have performed really well this year. Bruce Bochy might have made some horrible decisions on Monday night against the D-Backs, but his work in developing players — pitchers and position players — has been exceptionally good. The Rangers aren't 19 games above .500 without him. Gray is a generally reliable pitcher and someone the Rangers should feel very good about in this situation. Texas hitters have been really bad the past few games, but a team with this much hitting talent is bound to bust out of its collective slump at some point.
Why The Diamondbacks Could Cover The Spread
The Diamondbacks were the worst team in Major League Baseball in the four weeks after the All-Star break, but it stood to reason that bad stretches eventually end, because that's the nature of a 162-game baseball season. The bad teams will eventually play well for a week or two. The good teams will play poorly for a week or two. It's the nature of the beast. Arizona is back to its winning ways. The D-Backs will be confident after their pair of late rallies on Monday night against Texas.
The biggest reason, though, to pick the D-Backs is that they have staff ace Zac Gallen on the mound. He has not been as good this year as he was in 2022, but he has still been good. At home, though, Gallen is elite. He has suffered through some bad road starts, but he regularly locks it down in Phoenix. His road ERA is almost 4.50, but his home ERA is under 1.85. That's hard to ignore.
Final Rangers-Diamondbacks Prediction & Pick
You should stay away from this game, since both teams are in the midst of severe shifts — the Rangers losing five straight, the D-Backs winning 8 of 10 and being bound for regression.
Final Rangers-Diamondbacks Prediction & Pick: Diamondbacks +1.5
