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Astros vs. Rangers Prediction: Don't Be So Quick to Bet on Houston

By Iain MacMillan

The Astros and Rangers will meet for the final time in Texas tonight.
The Astros and Rangers will meet for the final time in Texas tonight. / Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
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The final chapter in the battle of Texas is set to go down tonight as the Houston Astros wrap up their four-game series against the Rangers. The Astros have a 13-5 record this season against the Rangers, and the oddsmakers don’t think the finale will be a close contest.

WynnBET has Houston set as a massive -225 (bet $225 to profit $100) favorites over the Rangers, who are huge home underdogs at +180 (bet $100 to profit $180).

Not only are they big favorites on the moneyline, but WynnBET has them set as the rare -2.5 runline favorite. In the large majority of cases, runlines for MLB games are set at -1.5 which means for it to cash, the favorite would have to win by at least two runs. In this case, with the runline set at -2.5, the Astros would need to win by at least three runs for the bet to hit. The odds for the Astros -2.5 runline are set at +105 (bet $100 to profit $105).

Framber Valdez (3.26 ERA) of the Astros will get the start against Glenn Otto (6.92 ERA) of the Rangers.

Astros vs. Rangers Prediction and Pick

As ugly as this pick may be, I’m not a big fan of the -2.5 runline, so I have to fade it and take the Rangers side of it at +2.5 at -135 odds. That means if the Rangers win, or if they only lose by one or two runs, the bet will cash.

One of the main reasons that the Rangers are such big underdogs is that Otto has only had three starts in his career, and he got smacked around in his last outing by the Oakland Athletics when he gave up eight earned runs in only 3.1 innings.

It’s important to note that while he had a rough outing in his last start, he pitched five scoreless innings against the Astros in his first start of the season while only giving up two hits.

Valdez hasn’t been so hot recently either, as he’s given up four earned runs in his last two starts.

This is baseball after all, so anything can happen. Obvious results don’t always pan out that way. Give me the Rangers at -135 on the +2.5 runline.

Want to tail this pick? Or maybe fade it? Download the WynnBET app now to get started.

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