The Tampa Bay Rays and the Texas Rangers will meet on the field in Arlington on Monday night in a battle to decide who claims the final Wild Card berth in the American League.
The Rangers and Rays have split their last 10 meetings at five wins apiece, with the teams also splitting a four-game series in Tampa Bay in the middle of September. The OVER/UNDER is 3-5-2 over their last 10 meetings.
It's a pitching duel between Martin Perez for the Rangers (10-5 on the year) and David Price for Tampa Bay (9-8 so far).
View Tampa Bay Rays vs Texas Rangers Odds and Stats.
Sportsbooks such as Sportsbook had set the Rangers as 115 underdogs on the moneyline for this contest. The over under was hovering near 7.5 for bettors hoping to turn a profit on totals at Sportsbook.
The Rangers sit at No. 8 in the current MLB power poll here at Odds Shark, while the Rays sit at No. 13 on the same chart.
Last time out for Tampa Bay, they were a 7-6 Sportsbook as they battled the Blue Jays on the road. Moneyline bettors who got the Rays at -177 were rewarded, while the 13 combined runs moved the game OVER for totals bettors. The Rays enjoyed a 7-6 victory at the expense of the Blue Jays on Sunday, with Matt Moore throwing 5 1/3 innings of 6-hit ball at Rogers Centre.
Texas was a 6-2 Sportsbook in its last match at home against the Angels. They won as -226 favorites, while the total score of 8 made Sportsbooks of OVER bettors. The Rangers enjoyed a 6-2 victory at the expense of the Angels on Sunday, with Yu Darvish throwing 5 2/3 innings of 4-hit ball at Rangers Ballpark.
How They Match Up:
Offensively, the game matches up Texas's No. 8 ranked offense (4.49 runs per game) against a Rays defense and pitching staff that sits at No. 11 at 3.98 runs allowed per game. The Rangers have been averaging 9 hits per game, more than the Rays have managed so far this season (8.73 hits on average).
Defensively, Tampa Bay features the No. 17-rated defense on the road, allowing 4.22 runs per game. Texas, meanwhile, comes in at No. 7 at home, scoring 4.59 runs per game.
A few Rays at Rangers trends to consider:
Tampa Bay is 8-2 SU in its last 10 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Tampa Bay's last 5 games
Tampa Bay is 7-3 SU in its last 10 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Tampa Bay's last 5 games on the road
Texas is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Texas's last 5 games
Texas is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Texas's last 5 games at home
Next up:
Tampa Bay at , Wednesday, December 31st
Texas at , Wednesday, December 31st
