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The Texas Rangers (52-55) take on the St. Louis Cardinals (54-52) Tuesday in the 2nd game of a 3-game set at Busch Stadium at 7:45 p.m. ET. Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s lines around the Rangers vs. Cardinals odds and make our expert MLB picks and predictions for the best bets.
Season series: Rangers lead 1-0
The Rangers got back into the win column Monday with a 6-3 victory as -111 road favorites over the struggling Cardinals. They strung together 13 hits and took advantage of a leaky bullpen to harness the win. 1B Nathaniel Lowe hit a 2-run homer to seal it. The Rangers pulled within 3½ games of the AL West lead and appear to be getting healthy.
The Cards are reeling, but they have reinforcements coming. They traded for RHP Erick Fedde and OF Tommy Pham Monday. Part of the problem is OF Alec Burleson has cooled off. He’s 2-for-21 (.095) over his last 5 games. The starting pitching and bullpen have been eroding, though, and the Cards are just 2-5 in their last 7 games.
Rangers at Cardinals projected starters
RHP Max Scherzer vs. RHP Lance Lynn
Scherzer (2-3, 3.57 ERA) makes his 8th start. He has a 1.08 WHIP, 1.8 BB/9 and 8.4 K/9 through 35 1/3 innings.
- Last start: Win, 6 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 9 K in 2-1 home victory vs. Chicago White Sox Thursday
- Last 5 regular-season starts vs. Cardinals: 3-1, 1.62 ERA (33 1/3 IP, 6 ER), 0.84 WHIP, 47 K
Lynn (5-4, 4.17 ERA) makes his 21st start. He has a 1.39 WHIP, 3.6 BB/9 and 8.3 K/9 through 101 1/3 innings.
- Last start: No-decision, 5 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 3 BB, 2 K in 2-1 win at Pittsburgh Pirates July 23
- Career vs. Rangers (regular season): 0-1, 1.74 ERA (10 1/3 IP, 2 ER), 1.55 WHIP, 13 K in 2 starts, last facing Texas in 2021
Who’s going yard? Here’s a breakdown of today’s best home run props with our top picks. Include the BetMGM bonus code SBWIRE to score a $1,500 first-bet offer.
Rangers at Cardinals odds
Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 10:07 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Rangers -120 (bet $120 to win $100) | Cardinals +100 (bet $100 to win $100)
- Run line (RL)/Against the spread (ATS): Rangers -1.5 (+135) | Cardinals +1.5 (-160)
- Over/Under (O/U): 8 (O: -120 | U: +100)
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Rangers at Cardinals picks and predictions
Prediction
Cardinals 4, Rangers 3
Moneyline
Story time! Scherzer is from St. Louis, and he reached out to former Cards ace Adam Wainwright during his free agency before the 2015 season. He told Waino what the Nationals were offering and said he would take less to come home and sign with St. Louis. The Cardinals didn’t even make an offer to him. So, “Mad Max” has had it out for his hometown team ever since. He’s 3-1 with a 1.62 ERA in his last 5 regular-season starts against them, and he has led his team to victory twice in the postseason against them.
PASS on a ML play but BET RANGERS FIRST 5 INNINGS (-135).
Run line/Against the spread
Wait, if Mad Max shoves against the Cards, why aren’t we taking the Rangers’ ML? They have the 25th-ranked bullpen ERA at 4.34. I also expect the Cardinals to have acquired an upgrade in the bullpen before first pitch.
Furthermore, Lynn gets up for matchups like these. His last start was an affective outing against stud RHP Paul Skenes of the Pirates. Look for Lynn to keep the Cards in the game, giving St. Louis a 50-50 shot to win outright.
I’ll take CARDINALS +1.5 (-160).
Over/Under
It’s slated to be a 91-degree evening with a 6-mph gust blowing straight in from center. The Over barely cashed Monday, and it was the 1st time in the last 10 meetings between the clubs that it did — and the Cards gave up 13 hits in the game. I’m sticking to my guns and taking the UNDER 8 (+100).
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