The Texas Rangers (29-18) and Pittsburgh Pirates (25-22) meet for game 2 of a 3-game series at PNC Park. Game time is slated for 6:35 p.m. ET. Let’s analyze FanDuel Sportsbook’s lines around the Rangers vs. Pirates odds and make our expert MLB picks and predictions for the best bets.
Season series: Pittsburgh leads 1-0
Texas had a 3-game win streak snapped with Monday’s 6-4 series-opening defeat. The Rangers are 7-3 over their last 10 road games.
The Pirates entered Monday with a .588 OPS since April 30 and had not scored 6-plus runs in a single game since a 16-run outburst on April 29. Pittsburgh is 5-13 in May following Monday’s victory.
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Rangers vs. Pirates projected starters
RHP Nathan Eovaldi vs. LHP Rich Hill
Eovaldi (5-2, 2.83 ERA) makes his 10th start of the 2023 campaign. He has a 0.99 WHIP, 1.5 BB/9 and 9.1 K/9 through 60 1/3 IP.
- Owns an 0.83 ERA over his last 4 starts
- Has a 3.14 ERA in road games since 2021
Hill (4-3, 3.80 ERA) makes his 10th start. He has notched a 1.35 WHIP, 2.9 BB/9 and 8.2 K/9 through 47 1/3 IP.
- Owns a 2.35 ERA over his last 7 starts:
- Last start: Win, 6 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 2 BB, 7 K in 8-0 road win vs. Detroit Tigers Wednesday
- Owns a 3.91 ERA across his last 5 starts against Texas (2016-2022)
Rangers at Pirates odds
Provided by FanDuel Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 6:43 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline: Rangers -172 (bet $172 to win $100) | Pirates +144 (bet $100 to win $144)
- Run line (RL)/Against the spread (ATS): Rangers -1.5 (-102) | Pirates +1.5 (-118)
- Over/Under (O/U): 8.5 (O: -106 | U: -114)
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Rangers at Pirates picks and predictions
Prediction
Rangers 6, Pirates 3
Moneyline
It has been more than 3 weeks since the Rangers lost back-to-back games to sub-.500 teams. Texas is a strong lean in this one with Eovaldi on the mound — just not a value at this price. PASS.
Run line/Against the spread
Eovaldi has been barreled up just 4.3% of the time and has his ground-ball rate at 51.3%, the would-be highest mark since 2015.
The Rangers own an .811 OPS in May and an .841 OPS against southpaws on the season.
Consider a partial-unit play on TEXAS -1.5 (-102).
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Over/Under
There is some all-around fade-the-pitching lean here, but Texas is way overcooked on its offensive numbers. It will be difficult to find value in a Rangers Over for a while.
PASS.
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