The Texas Rangers (20-38) host division rival Houston Astros (29-29) Friday for the second of the final four-game series of 2020 in the Globe Life Field. The first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. ET. Below, we analyze the Astros-Rangers MLB betting odds and lines, with picks and best bets.
Season series: Houston leads 5-3.
Playoff picture: Houston clinched a postseason berth for the fourth consecutive year. Texas is eliminated from playoff contention.
Astros at Rangers: Projected starting pitchers
RHP Lance McCullers vs. RHP Kyle Gibson
McCullers: 3-3 with a 4.24 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 8.3 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 in 51 IP over 10 GS.
- Last start: Loss, 6-1, with 6 2/3 IP, 3 H, 0 ER (4 R), 7 K and 2 BB at the Seattle Mariners on Sept. 21.
- Career vs. Rangers: 1-4 with a 4.65 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 60 K and 12 BB in 40 2/3 IP over 8 GS.
Gibson: 2-6 with a 5.87 ERA, 1.57 WHIP, 7.9 K/9 and 4.3 BB/9 in 61 1/3 IP over 11 GS.
- Last start: Loss, 8-5, with 4 IP, 5 H, 7 ER, 4 K and 4 BB at the Los Angeles Angels on Sept. 21.
- Career vs. Astros: 4-2 with a 2.90 ERA, 1.54 WHIP, 39 K and 21 BB in 49 2/3 IP over 8 GS.
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Astros at Rangers: Key injuries
(Get the latest injury news here.)
Astros
- RP Brad Peacock (shoulder) out
- RP Josh James (undisclosed) out
Rangers
- C Jose Trevino (wrist) out
- SS Elvis Andrus (back) out
- 3B Sherten Apostel (back) out
- OF Shin-Soo Choo (wrist) out
- SS Anderson Tejeda (arm) out
Astros at Rangers: Odds, lines, picks and betting tips
MLB odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full list. Odds last updated at 8:45 a.m. ET.
Prediction
Rangers 4, Astros 2
Money line (ML)
The Astros (-189) clinched a playoff berth last night even though they lost to Texas, 5-4, in extra innings thanks to the Los Angeles Dodgers beating the Los Angeles Angles to lock up second place in the AL West for Houston.
The Rangers (+170) have nothing to play for and a pretty extensive injury report. However, what that tells me is that there are a lot of Rangers playing for future employment. So there’s the one motivational angle in Astros-Rangers.
The Astros have been a terrible road team all season (9-21) and the Rangers are a .500 team at home (14-14). Plus there has to be a natural inclination for Houston to have a little senioritis with the regular season.
Let’s take a flyer on RANGERS (+170) to pull off an “upset”. New to sports betting? A $50 bet on the Rangers (+170) pays an $85 profit if Texas upsets Houston.
Run line/Against the spread (ATS)
Kyle Gibson’s numbers against the Astros are very good considering the recent Houston teams he’s pitched against. His last start against the Astros was his first complete-game shutout in Gibson’s career.
The Astros -1.5 (-125) is tied for the third-worst cover percentage against the run line in MLB and is just 5-11 RL as a road favorite. The Rangers +1.5 (+105) is slightly more reliable on the RL as a home underdog (10-10 RL) and is 5-3 RL against Houston in 2020.
Let’s get some insurance on our money line play and BET RANGERS +1.5 (+105). New to sports betting? A $100 bet on the Rangers +1.5 (+105) returns a $105 profit if Texas wins or loses by only a run.
Over/Under (O/U)
These two sides have the second- and third-worst Over percentage in MLB and have a combined Over/Under record of 48-68 O/U this year. The Under is 9-3-1 in the last 13 Astros-Rangers games, six of Gibson’s eight career starts against Houston have gone Under and five of McCullers’s eight 2020 starts have gone Under.
TAKE UNDER 9 (-110) in this spot.
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