Rangers vs Astros Prediction & Betting: Houston Has Won 9 Straight At Home

The Houston Astros (25-14) are 9-0 in their last nine home games after winning their series opener against the Texas Rangers (17-20) on Thursday night. Houston can extend its home winning streak to 10 games with a victory as a Rangers vs Astros prediction favorite Friday night at Minute Maid Park.

Rangers vs Astros Odds & Analysis

Sportsbook Odds

The Astros opened as -175 favorites in this AL West matchup before settling in at Houston -170. Texas is listed as a +155 underdog, and action on the OVER as a popular Rangers vs Astros prediction has bumped the total up to 8.5 runs after it opened at 8 runs. The UNDER is 5-0 in Houston’s last five home games.

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Starting Pitchers

Martin Perez allowed five hits and one earned run in six innings last Sunday in a 7-1 Rangers win over the Boston Red Sox. Perez has allowed one earned run or none in each of his last four starts, and he carries a 2.01 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP into this start against Houston.

Cristian Javier had his worst start of the season last Saturday in a 13-6 loss to the Washington Nationals, allowing eight hits and seven earned runs in 3.2 innings. After the rough start, Javier saw his season ERA jump from 0.83 to 3.20 in 25.1 innings pitched across three starts and four bullpen appearances.

Texas Looks To Bounce Back After Slow Day On Offense

The Rangers managed to score only one run in Thursday night’s 5-1 loss to the Astros. Prior to that setback, Texas was 4-0 over its previous four games while scoring an average of 6.25 runs.

Texas is 11-6 over its last 17 games. During that stretch, the Rangers are 3-6 in games in which they score three runs or less and 8-0 in games when they score four runs or more. Bettors taking Texas as their Rangers vs Astros prediction will be hoping the team’s offense can solve Houston’s pitching in the second game of this four-game series.

Houston’s Pitching Has Been Outstanding At Home

Framber Valdez pitched seven innings and allowed only one earned run to lead Houston to victory on Thursday. The Astros have received some outstanding pitching from their starters and bullpen during their current nine-game home winning streak, allowing only 1.13 runs per game over their last eight home games.

Cristian Javier hasn’t allowed an earned run in 12 innings pitched at home this season. Houston has only averaged 3.8 runs scored in its last five home games, but that has been enough thanks to the great pitching.

Rangers vs Astros Pick & Insights

Rangers: Keys To Victory

Martin Perez is having an outstanding year and should give Texas a solid chance to win as a Rangers vs Astros prediction upset. But the key to winning will be finding a way to grind out some runs on what has been a very stingy Astros pitching staff.

Astros: Keys To Victory

Houston has scored at least five runs in nine of its last 11 games. Given the way the Astros have been dominating on the mound at home, Houston should only need a few runs to get the job done as a Rangers vs Astros pick.

MLB Computer Pick: Rangers +1.5

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