The Houston Astros (44-37) and Texas Rangers (49-32) begin a 4-game series in Arlington on Friday. First pitch at Globe Life Park is slated for 8:05 p.m. ET. Let’s analyze FanDuel Sportsbook‘s lines around the Astros vs. Rangers and make our expert MLB picks and predictions for the best bets.
Season series: Rangers lead 2-1
The Astros are 3-3 on their current 10-game road trip and with a 14-0 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday have outscored their opponents 41-27 in the 6 games. Houston trails the 1st-place Rangers by 5 games in the AL West.
The Rangers split the 1st 4 games of their an 8-game homestand against the Detroit Tigers, losing 8-5 on Thursday. The Rangers are 26-14 at Globe Life Park and score the most runs per game at home in MLB (6.43).
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Astros at Rangers projected starters
RHP Ronel Blanco vs. RHP Jon Gray
Blanco (1-0, 4.63 ERA) will make his 5th start and 13th appearance. He has a 1.51 WHIP, 4.6 BB/9 and 9.5 K/9 in 35 innings.
- Last start: No-decision, 6 IP, 2 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 6 K in a 8-7 road loss vs. the Los Angeles Dodgers Saturday
- 2023 away splits: 0-0, 5.63 ERA (16 IP, 10 ER), .220 OBA in 6 appearances
- First start against the Rangers
Gray (6-3, 2.89 ERA) makes his 15th start. He has a 1.05 WHIP, 2.8 BB/9 and 7.7 K/9 in 81 innings.
- Last start: Loss, 5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K in a 1-0 road loss vs. the New York Yankees Saturday
- Last start vs Astros: No-decision, 2 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K in a 8-2 road loss on April 15
- Has allowed 1 ER or less in 6 of his last 7 starts
Astros at Rangers odds
Provided by FanDuel Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 12:01 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Astros +136 (bet $100 to win $136) | Rangers -162 (bet $162 to win $100)
- Run line (RL)/Against the spread (ATS): Astros +1.5 (-146) | Rangers -1.5 (+122)
- Over/Under (O/U): 9.5 (O: -104 | U: -128)
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Astros at Rangers picks and predictions
Prediction
Rangers 5, Astros 3
Moneyline
AVOID
The Rangers are one of MLB’s most prolific teams at home, although Gray has struggled a little at home. The Astros are actually hitting better on the road than at Minute Maid Park this season. I believe the Rangers win this game, but don’t feel strong enough to put up over 1 1/2 units.
Run line/Against the spread
PASS
The plu-money odds are tempting enough to put down 1/2 a unit on the Rangers to win by multiple runs, but I’m going to stay away and look at the run total.
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Over/Under
I’m all in on UNDER 9.5 (-120). The primary reason for that is Gray, who has been lights out over the last 2 months. He has allowed just 11 total runs over his last 8 starts and 6 of those runs came in 1 bad start against the Toronto Blue Jays. The Astros trio of Jose Altuve, Jose Abreu, and Alex Bregman is a combined 2 for 16 with 1 extra base hit and 1 RBI against Gray.
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