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The Texas Rangers (24-26) and Philadelphia Phillies (36-14) wrap a 3-game series Thursday at Citizens Bank Park. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. ET. Let’s analyze FanDuel Sportsbook’s lines around the Rangers vs. Phillies odds and make our expert MLB picks and predictions for the best bets.
Season series: Phillies lead 2-0
The Rangers have had a difficult encore after winning the World Series in 2023. Texas finds itself 2 games under .500 after dropping the past 3 games. Texas suffered an 11-4 loss in Wednesday’s game in Philadelphia, tying a season high for runs allowed. Oddly enough, the other time resulted in a 12-11 win over the lowly Oakland A’s May 8 in the 2nd end of a doubleheader.
The Phillies, who cashed as -115 favorites Wednesday, have the best record in baseball at 36-14. The New York Yankees are next at 34-17. Philadelphia leads the majors with a plus-90 run differential, and it is an impressive 21-8 at home, too. In addition, the Phillies are 8-2 in 10 interleague matchups this season.
Rangers at Phillies projected starters
LHP Andrew Heaney vs. RHP Zack Wheeler
Heaney (0-5, 4.43 ERA) makes his 10th start. He has a 1.23 WHIP, 2.2 BB/9 and 8.9 K/9 in 44 2/3 innings.
- Last start: Loss, 3 2/3 IP, 2 ER (3 R), 5 H, 1 HR, 2 BB, 5 K in 9-3 home setback vs. Los Angeles Angels Friday
- 2024 road splits: 0-1, 3.33 ERA (24 1/3 IP, 9 ER), 1.32 WHIP, .265 opponents’ batting average (OBA), 26 K across 5 starts
Wheeler (5-3, 2.52 ERA) makes his 11th start. He has a 0.97 WHIP, 2.8 BB/9 and 10.5 K/9 in 60 2/3 innings.
- Last start: Win, 7 1/3 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 6 K (104 pitches) in 4-2 home victory vs. Washington Nationals Friday
- 2024 home splits: 3-2, 1.63 ERA (38 2/3 IP, 7 ER), 0.83 WHIP, .159 OBA, 50 K in 6 starts
- Last 6 starts: 5-0, 2.21 ERA (36 2/3 IP, 9 ER), 20 H, 14 BB, 41 K
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Rangers at Phillies odds
Provided by FanDuel Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 4:44 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Rangers +172 (bet $100 to win $172) | Phillies -205 (bet $205 to win $100)
- Run line (RL)/Against the spread (ATS): Rangers +1.5 (-122) | Phillies -1.5 (+102)
- Over/Under (O/U): 8.5 (O: -102 | U: -120)
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Rangers at Phillies picks and predictions
Prediction
Phillies 5, Rangers 2
Moneyline
The Phillies (-205) will cost more than 2 times your potential return, and that’s just a little too much risk for not enough reward in this interleague series finale.
While Philadelphia has the best record in baseball, that’s too much to risk.
PASS and look to the run line instead.
Run line/Against the spread
PHILADELPHIA -1.5 (+102) is a much better play with this slight positive juice on the run line compared to backing the big -205 ML.
Philadelphia has outscored the Rangers by a 16-6 margin in the first 2 games of this series, and in the past 8 games, the Phillies are 7-1 with 6 victories by at least 2 runs.
On the flip side, Texas has 11 losses in 18 games since May 3. All 11 of those setbacks have been by 2 or more runs.
Over/Under
UNDER 8.5 (-120) is the way to go.
The Under has cashed in 3 of the past 4 games for the Rangers, although the Over easily cashed last time out Wednesday in the 11-4 loss to the Phillies.
For Philadelphia, the Over-Under has split at a 2-2-1 pace across the past 5 outings. The Under is 3-2 in the past 5 interleague game for the Phillies.
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