The Houston Astros (45-38) and Texas Rangers (50-33) face each other on Sunday for the 3rd game of their 4-game series in Arlington. First pitch from Globe Life Field is at 2:35 p.m. ET. Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s lines around the Astros vs. Rangers odds and make our expert MLB picks and predictions for the best bets.
Season series: Rangers lead 3-2
The Astros had their 3-game winning streak snapped on Saturday with the Rangers winning 5-2 to tie the series at 1. Houston won the opener 5-3. They are 6-4 in their last 10 games and trail the division-leading Rangers in the AL West by 5 games.
The Rangers have lost 5 of their last 8 games. Even so, they have the 2nd-best record in the American League.
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Astros at Rangers projected starters
RHP Shawn Dubin vs. LHP Andrew Heaney
Dubin (0-0, 10.80 ERA) makes his 1st career start and 3rd appearance. He has a 2.00 WHIP, 1 BB and 8 K in 5 innings.
- Was 0-2 with 7.96 ERA and 1.69 WHIP in 9 minor-league games (5 starts) for AAA Sugar Land
- Last appearance: 2 IP in relief, 1 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 4 K in 10-7 road win over St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday
Heaney (5-5, 4.38 ERA) makes his 16th start. He has a 1.31 WHIP, 3.9 BB/9 and 9.3 K/9 in 78 innings.
- Last start: Loss, 5 2/3 IP, 6 ER, 6 H, 3 BB, 5 K in 7-2 home loss to Detroit Tigers last Monday
- Went 1-2 with 5.87 ERA in 5 starts in June
Astros at Rangers odds
Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 11:15 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Astros +120 (bet $100 to win $120) | Rangers -145 (bet $145 to win $100)
- Run line (RL)/Against the spread (ATS): Astros +1.5 (-165) | Rangers -1.5 (+140)
- Over/Under (O/U): 9 (O: -115 | U: -105)
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Astros at Rangers picks and predictions
Prediction
Rangers 5, Astros 3
Moneyline
In the last 7 games between the 2 teams, they have alternated wins. The Rangers won on Saturday.
The Rangers are 27-16 at home and 21-21 overall against teams with a winning record. The Astros are 23-19 on the road, but are 21-25 against teams with winning records.
Heaney is coming off a bad start and was only OK in his other starts last month but the Rangers have won 6 out of his previous 8 starts.
Betting the Rangers on the moneyline isn’t a bad bed but their performance this season against the spread makes the positive odds there the better play.
PASS.
Run line/Against the spread
The Rangers are 51-32 ATS overall this season, the 2nd-best mark in the majors and are 20-14 ATS as home favorites. Five of their last 6 games have been by at least 2 runs. All 3 wins over the Astros this season have been by 2 or more runs.
All 6 of the Rangers’ wins in Heaney’s last 8 starts have been by multiple runs.
The Astros are 43-40 ATS overall and are 15-7 ATS as a road underdog.
BET RANGERS -1.5 (+140).
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Over/Under
Neither game this series has reached 9 runs and only 2 of 5 meetings this season have. Four of the Astros’ last 7 games have had more than 9 total runs whil 7 of the Rangers’ last 10 games have not reached 10 total runs.
BET UNDER 9 (-105).
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