Houston Astros vs. Texas Rangers Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 4/27/2022

Time: 8:05 p.m. ET

Venue: Globe Life Field, Arlington, TX

Where to watch: AT&T SportsNet-Southwest, Bally Sports Southwest

DraftKings: Check back later

BetMGM: Check back later

Caesars: Check back later

Astros: 7-9

Rangers: 6-10

At the time of publishing, the Houston Astros are on a slide of losing five of their last six games and are off to a slide that is absolutely descriptive of a slow start. Hopefully if you’re fans of the AL West teams, that continues, but for the time being, the effect of not having Carlos Correa is playing a factor.

The Astros lost the series opener of the four-game slate to the Texas Rangers on Monday, 6-2, thanks to a late surge and a collapse from the bullpen. Houston put up eight hits on Texas, led by three from Kyle Tucker and two from Yuli Gurriel, but could only bring two home.

It was also a shame to see the Astros waste a solid outing from Framber Valdez, going six innings and giving up only one run on four hits. It was just Houston’s bullpen letting them down.

"He did pitch good. He got out of some tough jams, made some pitches when he had to," Astros manager Dusty Baker said. "He got up close to 100 pitches, what we hoped for, and he hoped for too."

Losing Correa might not lead to an immediate impact, but they do miss his defense and his power at the top of the lineup. They’re hoping Jeremy Pena, who hit the walk-off home run Sunday to get a win for Houston over Toronto, will be that guy. Right now, the rookie is batting .241 in the No. 9 spot.

But it’s not just that. Jose Altuve is struggling and is dealing with an injury that’s keeping him out of the lineup. Yordan Alvarez is batting .167 and Tucker is hitting just .169 after a very good playoff run. They need to get the bats going.

The Texas Rangers have won four of five and it might be time to think they’re getting things going. And you can’t blame them with the way they manhandled the Oakland Athletics over the weekend, and to come back home and take the first of four against their in-state rivals.

And it was the big bats that led the way for Texas when they needed them most. Corey Seager and Marcus Semien drove in runs, and then Adolis Garcia did his thing with a three-run double in the bottom of the eighth to put the game away.

Dane Dunning pitched a solid 5.2 innings despite giving up two earned runs, dropping his ERA finally to below 5.00, and struck out five on 88 pitches. But Matt Moore’s one inning of relief ball with a strikeout got him the win. Considering this bullpen’s struggles as of late, it’s good for Texas to get that going.

"Everything's kind of clicking on both sides, the chemistry is getting better," Seager said. "There's a lot of new faces, and a lot of new parts that we're coming together ... and are starting to figure themselves out."

Texas is still not fully there from the standpoint of having their ace, Jon Gray, on the injured list and hasn’t pitched a full game to this point. But to get four wins in five? There aren’t going to be plenty of fun moments to endure this season with Texas, but you can hold onto this with wins over three division rivals.

The Rangers are expected to send right-handed rookie Glenn Otto to start against Houston reliever Christian Javier. He’s made three appearances, allowed just five hits and no runs in that frame. Otto, coming off his first win of the season on April 22 against Oakland, struck out five and gave up one run in five innings. I really want to see what Otto can do against a much better lineup, and I think he’ll get it done. Rangers win 5-3

Astros are 60-41 the past three seasons as a favorite between -125 and -175.

Astros are 76-55 against division opponents the past three seasons.

Rangers are 51-96 against right-handed starters the past three seasons.

Astros:
Chas McCormick (R) CF
Michael Brantley (L) DH
Alex Bregman (R) 3B
Yordan Alvarez (L) LF
Yuli Gurriel (R) 1B
Kyle Tucker (L) RF
Aledmys Diaz (R) 2B
Jason Castro (L) C
Jeremy Pena (R) SS
SP - Christian Javier

Rangers:
Brad Miller (L) LF
Marcus Semien (R) 2B
Corey Seager (L) SS
Nathaniel Lowe (L) 1B
Adolis Garcia (R) CF
Kole Calhoun (L) RF
Jonah Heim (S) C
Willie Calhoun (L) DH
Andy Ibanez (R) 3B
SP - Glenn Otto

Batting average: Michael Brantley -- .311

Hits: Michael Brantley -- 19

Home runs: Yordan Alvarez -- 4

RBI: Alex Bregman -- 12

Wins: Seven tied -- 1

Saves: Ryan Pressly -- 3

ERA: Justin Verlander -- 1.89

Batting average: Nathaniel Lowe -- .381

Hits: Nathaniel Lowe -- 24

Home runs: Four tied -- 2

RBI: Adolis Garcia -- 10

Wins: Brock Burke -- 2

Saves: Matt Bush -- 1

ERA: Glenn Otto -- 1.80