Texas Rangers vs Houston Astros Prediction & Betting Tips 8/7/2024

Texas Rangers vs Houston Astros Preview

From Globe Life Field in Arlington, we have an AL West matchup between the Astros and Rangers. First pitch for this one is set for 2:35 PM ET, and MLBN is carrying it on TV.

Yusei Kikuchi is starting for the Astros, and they are 58-55 overall, which has them in 2nd place in the AL West. The Rangers are 3rd in the division at 54-60 and they will have Jose Urena on the mound on Wednesday. The over/under line is currently at 9 runs, and the Astros are the slight money line favorite, with their odds sitting at -120 compared to the Rangers at +100.

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Texas Rangers vs. Houston Astros Trends and Key Stats

• The Astros are 2-3 across their last five road games. They have gone 2-3 vs. the runline.
• The Rangers, on the other hand, have played five home games recently, during which they have recorded a 1-4 (SU) and 1-4 record.
• 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.
• When playing as the underdog, the Rangers have gone 2-8 against the runline, with a straight-up record of 6-4 over their last ten games.

Houston rallied for two runs in the 9th inning in the most recent game of this Astros vs. Rangers series. The Astros scored one run in the 4th inning but didn’t score another run until putting up two in the top of the 9th, picking up a 4-2 win. Heading into the game, the Astros were favored at -129 on the money line.

Framber Valdez pitched well for the Astros in the game, going 8 2/3 innings and giving up just one run. He finished with five strikeouts but issued three walks. Josh Hader came out of the bullpen for the save. Tyler Mahle had a rough outing for the Rangers, taking the loss after going five innings and giving up one run.

Yordan Alvarez and Jake Meyers each homered for the Astros, while Alex Bregman scored two runs and drove in a run while going 2/5. Jose Altuve also had a two-hit game for Houston.

Texas Rangers vs Houston Astros Prediction

Houston is 58-55 overall and trails the Mariners by just a half-game for the AL West lead. The Astros are 20-18 against other teams in the AL West. The Astros will take on the Rangers on the road today, and they are 4-6 over their last 10 games overall.

So far, the Astros have gone 32-26 at home compared to 26-29 on the road. As the favorite, the Astros are 44-39 this year and 14-16 as the underdog. Looking at their overall series record, the Astros are 19-16 but have dropped two straight series.

When the Astros are on the road, they have a run line record of 29-26, and their average run differential is -0.2. They have covered the run line in three straight road games, and their overall run line record is 56-57. As the favorite, they are 37-46 against the run line, and as the underdog, they are 19-11.

The Houston Astros are on the road today against the Texas Rangers. The over/under line for the game is set at 9 runs, which is right around their season average of 8.7 runs per game. The Astros have a 44-65 over/under record on the season, and their games have averaged a line of 9 runs. When the line is set at 9 runs, they have gone over 11 times, under 7 times, and pushed twice. Their games have had an over/under line set at 9 runs in just 12.4% of their games this season, and their current under streak is at 5 games.

Left-hander Yusei Kikuchi gets the start for the Astros today as he faces the Rangers on the road. He has made 23 starts this season and has a record of 4-9 with an ERA of 4.67. Kikuchi’s WHIP for the season is currently 1.33. In his last outing, he went 5 2/3 innings, giving up two earned runs, and finished with a no-decision. Looking back further, Kikuchi has finished with a no-decision in three straight outings. The last time he picked up the win was on June 23rd vs. the Orioles. Kikuchi has allowed at least one home run in each of his last three outings.

Yordan Alvarez has been the Astros’ top power threat this season, as his 21 homers are the best mark on the team and 10th best in the league. Alvarez is also hitting .300 for the season and is 2nd on the team with 57 RBIs. Catcher Yainer Diaz has been the team’s top run producer, as he has driven in 59 runs this season while batting .296.

Jose Altuve is hitting .303 for the Astros and is 4th on the team with 14 homers. Kyle Tucker is 2nd on the team with 19 homers and has the best on-base percentage on the team, at .395. Tucker has also driven in 40 runs this season. Tucker is currently on a three-game hitting streak, but he has gone just 3/13 in his last seven games.

Texas will host the Astros today with an overall record of 54-60, which has them five games behind the Mariners for the AL West lead. So far, they are 14-17 in divisional games and have lost three straight series. The Rangers are coming off a series loss to the Mariners and are just 3-7 across their last ten games.

At home, the Rangers are 31-26 this season compared to a mark of 23-34 on the road. Texas has dropped five straight games as the underdog, and they are 18-32 overall in games as the underdog. As for their record as the favorite, the Rangers are 36-28 this season. So far, their overall series record is 15-20.

When betting the run line on the Texas Rangers, it’s best to take them as the underdog. They are 26-24 against the run line in those games compared to 22-42 as the favorite. The Rangers are 24-33 against the run line both at home and on the road, and they have lost two straight games against the run line when they are favored.

When the Rangers play at home, the over/under line is set at 9 runs, which is slightly higher than their season average of 8.6 runs per game. Overall, the over/under record for Texas games this season is 50-60, and when the line is set at 9 runs, their record is 8-11-1. The under has hit in the last two games for the Rangers.

Texas is starting right-hander José Ureña vs. the Astros today, and he comes into the game with a record of 3-6 and an ERA of 3.70. Ureña has made 26 appearances this season and has pitched 80 1/3 innings. In his three quality starts, Ureña has an ERA of 2.12 at home compared to 9.1 on the road. Overall, he has allowed 10 homers at home and five on the road. Ureña’s last outing came vs. the Red Sox, where he gave up seven earned runs in four innings of work.

Corey Seager has been on a tear of late for the Rangers, going 12/37 (.324) over his last nine games, with five homers and eight RBIs. Seager’s 24 homers this season is 7th in the league and leads the Rangers. He also comes into the game on a six-game hitting streak. Overall, Seager’s 57 RBIs is the best mark on the team.

As a team, the Rangers are 18th in the league in scoring at 4.2 runs per game. This is also where they are at in terms of batting average and on-base percentage. Texas has been a good team at avoiding strikeouts this season, and they are 13th in the league in home runs.

With the Rangers at +100 on the money line, that is the way we recommend playing this one. We have the Rangers taking this one by a final of 6-5. As for the Astros, they are projected to finish with just seven hits compared to the Rangers, who we have finishing with 11.

Looking at the starting pitchers, we have Jose Urena finishing with four strikeouts compared to Yusei Kikuchi at five. However, Urena is projected to finish with a higher strikeout total than Kikuchi.

Texas Rangers vs Houston Astros Betting Tips

• We like the Rangers on the moneyline (+100)
• On the run line we like Rangers (+1.5)
• Projecting a combined 11 runs, we like the over

Texas Rangers Injury Report

Houston Astros Injury Report