The Texas Rangers take on the San Francisco Giants. Our MLB odds series has our Rangers Giants prediction and pick. Find out how to watch Rangers Giants.

The San Francisco Giants are in a very strong playoff position, but they own their place in the National League wild card standings (in the second spot behind the Philadelphia Phillies) primarily because of other teams which have been spectacular disappointments this season. The New York Mets in the N.L. East, the St. Louis Cardinals in the N.L. Central, and the San Diego Padres in the N.L. West all have a lot more raw talent than the Giants, but they have all imploded to varying degrees. The Mets and Cardinals have been bullpen disasters. The Mets' batting order other than Pete Alonso has been largely disappointing. The Cardinals' starting rotation has also been a problem. The Padres have gotten the pitching but have hit extremely poorly with runners in scoring position and in the sixth through ninth innings of games. This has opened the door for the Giants to make the playoffs with very good pitching and minimal hitting.

Friday night's game showed the Giants' strengths and limitations. They held the powerful Texas Rangers to just two runs in the first game of this weekend series at Oracle Park, but they scored only one run, and that run was created in part by a Texas error in the bottom of the ninth inning. The Giants lost, 2-1, to Texas starter Jon Gray, a former Colorado Rockie who has become part of the Bruce Bochy success story in Arlington, rounding into form as a pitcher and getting the most out of his talent. Gray, Dane Dunning, and the other less-known Texas starters have helped Nathan Eovaldi and newly-arrived Max Scherzer form a starting rotation which will give the Rangers a fighting chance in the playoffs.

Here are the Rangers-Giants MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

MLB Odds: Rangers-Giants Odds

Texas Rangers: +1.5 (-188)

San Francisco Giants: -1.5 (+155)

Over: 8 (-104)

Under: 8 (-118)

How To Watch Rangers vs. Giants

TV: Bally Sports Southwest (Rangers) / NBC Sports Bay Area (Giants) / MLB Extra Innings

Stream: MLB.tv

Time: 9:05 p.m. ET/6:05 p.m. PT

*Watch Rangers-Giants LIVE on fuboTV (click for a free trial)*

Why The Rangers Could Cover The Spread

The Rangers have won nine of their last 10 games. They usually win with their offense, but on Friday night, they showed they could win with their pitching. They don't have the best pitching in the American League, but with their level of offense, they don't have to. On nights when the bats don't show up, though, their pitching is capable of keeping them in games.

Texas is facing a San Francisco batting order which offered very little resistance to the Rangers on Friday night. The Giants have a very strong bullpen which is carrying them right now, but if Wilmer Flores — an exceptionally good hitter since the start of June who has been mashing everything in sight and has hit almost as well as Shohei Ohtani over the past two and a half months — is not driving in runs, this offense struggles to get big run-producing hits. The Rangers can pitch around Flores and contain San Francisco.

Why The Giants Could Cover The Spread

The Rangers are winning a lot of games, but they have scored a total of two runs in their last two games. Jonah Heim and Josh Jung, two of their best players, are out with injuries. The Rangers' best feature is that there are few easy outs in the lineup, but with Heim and Jung unavailable, some real holes emerge in the Texas batting order. The 1-through-9 balance they rely on to score runs at a high rate — one of the best in baseball — does not exist with Heim and Jung hurt. This reshapes the competitive balance of the game and gives San Francisco much more of a footing in this game.

The pitching matchup favors the Giants. San Francisco sends its No.  2 starter, Alex Cobb — who has had a very good year — against Andrew Heaney, a middle-rotation pitcher for the Rangers. Heaney has given the Rangers a lot of needed innings this season and has generally helped the club, but he isn't as good as Cobb.

Final Rangers-Giants Prediction & Pick

The Rangers are better. The Giants have the better pitching matchup. It feels like a toss-up, so you should stay away from this game.

Final Rangers-Giants Prediction & Pick: Rangers -1.5