Texas Rangers vs Houston Astros Preview
At 8:05 PM ET, the Astros and Rangers will face off in an AL West matchup. This one is being played at Globe Life Field in Arlington, and the Rangers are slight home underdogs on the money line (+104). The Astros have lost three straight and are 2nd in the AL West, with an overall record of 57-55.
Tuesday’s pitching matchup features Framber Valdez for the Astros and Tyler Mahle for the Rangers. On the money line, the Astros are currently favored, with their line sitting at -123 compared to the Rangers at +104. The over/under line is currently at 8 runs, and the game can be seen on BSSW.
Check out BetCoco for Texas Rangers – Houston Astros odds
Texas Rangers vs. Houston Astros Trends and Key Stats
- 1-4 is the record of Astros in their last five road games. They have also gone 1-4 vs. the runline.
- On the opposing side, the Rangers have a 1-4 (SU) record, along with a 1-4 record in their last five home contests.
- Over their last ten games, the Astros have a 5-5 straight-up record when playing as the favorite, along with a 2-8 record vs. the runline.
- As the underdog, the Rangers have gone 2-8 vs. the runline and 6-4 straight-up.
Thanks to a two-run homer from Josh Smith and a good outing from Andrew Heaney, the Rangers picked up a 4-3 win over the Astros in the most recent game of this series. Heading into the game, the Rangers were at -113 on the money line.
Heaney only went six innings for the Rangers but gave up just one hit and one earned run. Kirby Yates got the win out of the bullpen, and Caleb Ferguson took the loss for the Astros.
Alex Bregman hit a home run for the Astros, going 1/5 with three RBIs, but it came in a losing effort. Hunter Brown gave up just one earned run in six innings of work for Houston.
Texas Rangers vs Houston Astros Prediction
Houston is on the road today vs. the Rangers, and they are looking to pick up a win to snap a three-game losing streak. The Astros are 57-55 overall this season, putting them 2nd in the AL West, 1.5 games behind the Mariners. So far, they have gone 19-18 in divisional games.
At home, the Astros have gone 32-26 this year compared to a 25-29 mark on the road. As the favorite, the Astros are 43-39 this year, and they are 14-16 as the underdog. Houston’s overall series record is 19-16, but they have dropped two straight series.
When it comes to the run line, the Astros have been a better bet on the road this season. They are 28-26 against the run line away from Minute Maid Park. Their average run margin on the road is -0.2 runs per game, but they have covered the run line in two straight road games. They are 19-11 against the run line as an underdog this season.
When the Astros are on the road, the over/under line is set at 8 runs, which is lower than their season average of 8.7 runs per game. Overall, the over/under record for Houston games this season is 44-64, with the average line set at 9 runs. When the line is set at 8 runs, the record is 7-11-2, and the under has hit in their last four games.
Framber Valdez gets the start for the Astros today as he faces the Rangers on the road. He has made 19 starts this season and has a record of 10-5 with a 3.56 ERA. Valdez’s WHIP for the season is currently 1.25. In his 19 appearances, he has turned in 11 quality starts and one complete game. Valdez has a strikeout rate of 8.36 per nine innings. In his last outing, he gave up four earned runs in six innings of work but still got the win. Before that, he had not allowed more than two earned runs in four straight starts.
Yordan Alvarez has been the Astros’ top power threat this season, as his 20 home runs are the best mark on the team and 11th best in the league. He is also 2nd on the team in RBIs, with 55. Catcher Yainer Diaz has been a nice surprise for the Astros, as he is batting .295 for the season and has gone 11/30 over his last eight games. During this stretch, he has two homers and four RBIs.
As a team, the Astros are averaging 4.5 runs per game and are one of the top home run hitting teams in the league. Overall, they are batting .258, which is the 2nd best mark in the MLB. Houston comes into the game as one of the league’s best teams at avoiding strikeouts but are just 24th in the league in walks.
Texas is 54-59 overall, putting them 3rd in the AL West. Currently, they are five games behind the Mariners for the division lead and trail the Astros by 1.5 games for 2nd place. The Rangers have gone 14-16 against other teams in the AL West this season.
At home, the Rangers are 31-25 this season, compared to a 23-34 mark on the road. So far, they have dropped four straight games as the underdog. As the favorite, the Rangers are 36-28 and 18-31 as the underdog. Texas’ overall series record is 15-20 and they have dropped three straight series.
When betting the run line on the Rangers, it’s been more profitable to take the underdog, as Texas is 26-23 against the run line in those games compared to 22-42 as the favorite. The Rangers’ overall run line record is 48-65, with an average run margin of -0.2 runs per game. They have been slightly better at home, going 24-32 against the run line for a +0.6 run margin per game.
The Texas Rangers have an over/under record of 50-59 this season, and the average over/under line for their games is set at 8 runs. When the line is set at 8 runs, their over/under record is 8-12-2. Overall, the combined run average in their games this season is 8.6 runs, and 65.5% of their games have had over/under lines set at more than 8 runs.
Tyler Mahle is coming off a season in which he made five starts for the Rangers. His record in those starts was 1-2, and he finished the season with an ERA of 3.16. Mahle made one quality start and allowed five home runs. His WHIP for the season was 1.05, and he finished the season with a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 5.6.
Corey Seager has been on a tear for the Rangers, going 12/37 (.324) over his last nine games, including four home runs and six RBIs. For the season, Seager has a team-high 23 homers while batting .277. Adolis Garcia and Marcus Semien are also near the top of the team in home runs, but Garcia is hitting just .209, and Semien is batting .244.
Overall, the Rangers are averaging 4.2 runs per game, which is 16th in the league. They are also just 16th in team batting average and have a collective on-base percentage of just .307. As a team, they are 18th in slugging and 20th in OPS.
With the Rangers at +104 on the money line, that’s the direction we recommend going in this one. And with the over/under sitting at 8 runs, we would take the over, as our projections have this one ending with a 6-5 win for the Rangers.
Looking at the starting pitchers, our projections have Tyler Mahle finishing with six strikeouts compared to Framber Valdez with seven. However, Valdez has a better chance of picking up a win, but we still have Mahle’s Rangers coming out on top.
Texas Rangers vs Houston Astros Betting Tips
- We like the Rangers on the moneyline (+104)
- The Rangers are also our pick on the run line at +1.5
- Projecting a combined 11 runs, we like the over
Texas Rangers Injury Report
| Player | Status | Injury |
|---|---|---|
| Max Scherzer | Out | Shoulder |
| Jacob deGrom | Out | Elbow |
| Jon Gray | Out | Groin |
| Tyler Mahle | Probable | Elbow |
| Cole Winn | Out | Shoulder |
| Evan Carter | Out | Back |
| Carson Coleman | Out | Elbow |
| Jacob Latz | Out | Forearm |
Houston Astros Injury Report
| Player | Status | Injury |
|---|---|---|
| Justin Verlander | Out | Neck |
| Kendall Graveman | Out | Shoulder |
| Lance McCullers Jr. | Out | Forearm |
| Kyle Tucker | Out | Shin |
| Cristian Javier | Out | Elbow |
| Luis Garcia | Out | Elbow |
| Bennett Sousa | Out | Shoulder |
| José Urquidy | Out | Elbow |
| Penn Murfee | Out | Elbow |
| Oliver Ortega | Out | Elbow |
