The distance between Minute Maid Park, where the Houston Astros play, and Globe Life Park, where the Texas Rangers play, is a total of 257 miles. The distance between these teams in the standings seems almost as far. Despite winning seven of their last 10, the Rangers trail the Astros by 31 games in the AL West. Houston leads the season series 13-5 and has won two of three in this four-game set.
- Date/Time: September 16, 8:05 p.m. ET
- Stadium: Globe Life Field
- TV Coverage: ATT SportsNet SW, Bally Sports Southwest
- Sportsbook Odds: Astros -235 | O/U 8.5 (Line History)
- Astros vs Rangers Matchup Report
Sportsbook Odds Analysis
Not surprisingly, the Astros opened as big -235 favorites on the moneyline. Texas opened right around +200 at most sportsbooks and is still hovering close to that number. The total opened at 8.5 and has moved up slightly to 9. The first three games of this series all reached a total of at least 9 runs.
Starting Pitchers Analysis
Luis Garcia heads to the hill for the Astros. The right-hander is 10-7 with a 3.43 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP in 139 innings for Houston. Garcia has fanned 158 batters and walked 42.
Glenn Otto spent time in Double-A and Triple-A this season before making his debut with Texas on August 27, giving up only two hits in five scoreless innings against the Astros. However, in his last start, the 25-year-old righty was shelled for eight runs in just over three innings against the Athletics.
Houston News & Notes
The Astros have a team ERA of 3.95 ERA on the road, second only to the Blue Jays (3.88) in the American League. Opponents are hitting .234 off Astros hurlers when they pitch outside of Minute Maid Park.
Houston leads the major leagues in total hits and has the highest batting average at .269. As a team, the Astros are hitting .270 on the road.
Yuli Gurriel and Michael Brantley are tied for second in batting average in the AL. Both are hitting .315, trailing only Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (.317). Brantley was placed on the IL retroactive to Monday with a sore right knee and won’t be in the lineup for this game.
Texas News & Notes
The Rangers have scored 569 runs, which ranks last in the American League, 212 behind the AL-leading Tampa Bay Rays. Since the all-star break, the Rangers are last in the majors in runs scored.
As a team, Texas is batting .231, second-worst in baseball to the Seattle Mariners (.223). Against left-handed pitchers, the Rangers rank dead last in on-base percentage (.288).
For the season, Texas has a 4.72 team ERA. In Arlington, the Rangers have a more respectable 4.18 ERA.
Staff Betting Pick: OVER 9
Texas sends Glenn Otto to the mound trying to earn a split. Otto was very effective in his first start against the Astros, but I suspect now that Houston is familiar with his stuff, it will be a different story today. In their two wins this series, the Astros have scored a combined 22 runs. Take the OVER 9 in this one.
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Buy Sports Picks Now- Texas is 6-12 in its last 18 home games.
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