Astros vs Rangers Prediction and Betting Preview | July 12
Saturday’s Astros vs Rangers showdown in Houston features two of the best starting pitchers in the American League. Texas is 6-1 in Jacob deGrom’s last seven starts, and the GoldSheet team believes the Rangers can add to that run this evening at Daikin Park.
Astros vs Rangers Betting Preview
| Time | 7:35pm ET / 4:35pm PT |
| Stadium | Daikin Park in Houston |
| Weather | Retractable Roof Dome |
| MoneyLine | Houston -125 / Texas +105 |
| Total | 6.5 Runs (o -115 / u -105) |
| RunLine | Houston -1.5 (+180) / Texas +1.5 (-220) |
Texas Rangers
The Rangers captured the first game of this important AL West series on Friday and Texas should be in good shape heading into Saturday. The Rangers’ offense knocked Lance McCullers Jr. out of Friday’s game after 3.0 innings, forcing the Astros’ bullpen to throw 100 pitches to close the 7-3 loss.
deGrom faced the Astros on May 15 and pitched 8.0 scoreless innings with seven strikeouts, one walk and five hits allowed.
The Rangers’ current roster is hitting .214 in 216 plate appearances against Houston’s Framber Valdez with a 24.5-percent strikeout rate and a .281 weighted on-base average.
- Marcus Semien is 11-for-38 with a double and two home runs.
- Adolis Garcia is 7-for-38 with a home run and eight strikeouts.
- Corey Seager is 8-for-31 with a triple and a home run.
Houston Astros
Framber Valdez is having another strong season for the Astros, but some advanced factors suggest that he’s not on the same level as he was a year ago. His average exit velocity is up from 90.2 mph to 91.1 mph. His expected batting average has climbed from .233 to .249. His expected weighted on-base average has climbed from .287 to .313. His hard-hit rate has climbed from 45.0-percent to 48.5-percent. His expected ERA (3.74) is nearly a full run higher than his actual ERA (2.90).
It’s a small sample size, but Jacob deGrom has been dominant against the Astros in previous meetings. Houston’s current roster is hitting .171 in 41 plate appearances against deGrom. Christian Walker is 0-for-10 with four strikeouts. Isaac Paredes is 0-for-4. Jose Altuve is 0-for-4.
Astros vs Rangers Prediction
Valdez is having a very strong season, but deGrom has been better than him in almost every major pitching category. We’re getting an underdog plus-money price on the starting pitcher that has a better ERA, a better expected ERA, a better WHIP, a better strikeout rate, a better walk rate, a better hard-hit rate, a better barrel rate and a better expected batting average allowed.
TEXAS RANGERS +105 ML
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