The Texas Rangers (60-44) and San Diego Padres (50-54) meet Saturday for Game 2 of a 3-game series. First pitch from Petco Park is set for 8:40 p.m. ET. Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s lines around the Rangers vs. Padres odds and make our expert MLB picks and predictions for the best bets.
Season series: Padres lead 1-0
San Diego won 7-1 as a -163 home favorite in the series opener on Friday. That game was all Padres from the jump. By the end of the 6th inning, they had a 7-0 lead and had already put the game away, thanks to a 4-run 6th inning that gave them an insurmountable lead.
The Rangers are now 5-5 in their last 10 games overall and sit at 26-24 on the road this year. San Diego is 6-4 in its last 10 and 2-2 in its last 4 home games. The Padres are 27-25 at home this season.
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Rangers at Padres projected starters
LHP Martin Perez vs. RHP Yu Darvish
Perez (8-3, 4.91 ERA) makes his 20th start. He has a 1.49 WHIP, 3.3 BB/9 and 6.0 K/9 in 102 2/3 innings.
- Last start: Win, 6 IP, 4 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 6 K in 8-4 home win vs. Los Angeles Dodgers Sunday
- Road stats: 4-2, 5.98 ERA (52 2/3 IP, 35 ER) in 10 starts
- Career vs. Padres: 0-0, 2.16 ERA (8 1/3 IP, 2 ER) in 1 start and 1 relief appearance – last faced San Diego in 2018
Darvish (7-7, 4.80 ERA) makes his 19th start. He has a 1.31 WHIP, 3.2 BB/9 and 9.6 K/9 in 101 1/3 innings.
- Last start: Loss, 4 1/3 IP, 7 ER, 8 H, 3 BB, 3 K in 8-4 home loss vs. Pittsburgh Pirates Monday
- Home stats: 2-4, 4.73 ERA (51 1/3 IP, 27 ER) in 9 starts
- Career vs. Rangers: 0-0, 2 2/3 IP, 3 ER, 2 H, 7 BB, 4 K in 1 start, an 8-6 road loss as member of Chicago Cubs March 30, 2019
Rangers at Padres odds
Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 12:03 p.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Rangers +150 (bet $100 to win $150) | Padres -185 (bet $185 to win $100)
- Run line (RL)/Against the spread (ATS): Rangers +1.5 (-130) | Padres -1.5 (+105)
- Over/Under (O/U): 9.5 (O: +100 | U: -120)
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Rangers at Padres picks and predictions
Prediction
Padres 7, Rangers 6
Moneyline
PASS.
I like the Padres to win this one as they have the 9-1 lead in the last 10 head-to-head matchups, but at -185, the line is not worth the juice. Bet the run line and/or O/U instead.
Run line/Against the spread
BET RANGERS +1.5 (-130).
Neither team is much hotter than the other, but the Rangers do have a big enough pitching advantage to make me confident that they will cover here. The Rangers are 4-1 in Perez’s last 5 starts and 1-0 in his only start vs. San Diego. The Padres are 2-3 in Darvish’s last 5 starts and the 5-time All-Star is 0-1 in his only start vs. Texas. The Rangers also have a better record and are solid on the road.
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Over/Under
LEAN OVER 9.5 (+100).
The Over is 7-3 in the last 10 meetings between these teams. The Over is also 4-0-1 in Perez’s last 5 starts, 3-2 in Darvish’s last 5 starts, and 1-0 in Darvish’s only start vs. Texas.
The Over is safer for both pitchers, but this is a lean because the Over hasn’t been hot for either team individually as of late.
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