Texas Rangers vs Houston Astros Prediction, Preview and Odds - 07/26/2023

Game Time: 8:10 pm ET, Wednesday, July 26, 2023

Venue:  Minute Maid Park, Houston, TX

Where to Watch:  Sportsnet SW

DraftKings:  Moneyline odds:  Rangers +145, Astros -170; Over/Under:  8 runs

Bet365:  Moneyline odds:  Rangers +145, Astros -170; Over/Under:  8 runs

BetMGM:  Moneyline odds:  Rangers +145, Astros -170; Over/Under:  8 runs

Texas Rangers:  59-42 (1st place, AL West)

Houston Astros:  57-44 (2nd place, AL West)

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Texas Rangers:  7-3 last 10

Houston Astros:  7-3 last 10

The Rangers are entering this series off a win but lost their 3-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers 2-1 in their last series. They enter this game with a 59-42 record overall and have a road record of 25-22. This is the series finale of a 3-game series with the Astros on Wednesday with the 2nd game of this series still to be played on Tuesday. They also lost the series opener of this series on Monday. Their offense ranks 2nd in the MLB with a .803 OPS. Yerry Rodríguez is their starting pitcher on Tuesday while Andrew Heaney is making his start in this game on Wednesday. He is 6-6 with a 4.58 ERA this season. His team lost 4 of their last 5 games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season start, he allowed 4 ER, 1 HR, and 3 BB with 3 Ks on 5 hits through 5 IP against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Astros are entering this series off a win and won their 4-game series against the Oakland Athletics 3-1 in their last series. They enter this game with a 57-44 record overall and have a home record of 26-22. This is the 3rd game of a 3-game series with the Rangers on Wednesday with the 2nd game of this series still to be played on Tuesday. They also won the 1st game of this series on Monday. Their offense ranks 15th in the MLB with a .729 OPS. Rookie pitcher J.P. France is their starting pitcher on Tuesday while Framber Valdez is making his start in this game on Wednesday. He is 8-6 with a 2.94 ERA this season. His team won 2 of their last 3 games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season start, he allowed 4 earned runs, 0 homers, and 2 BB with 4 strikeouts on 6 hits through 5 innings played against the Oakland Athletics.

The current betting odds have the Astros listed as a favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. The Astros have been rolling lately, they are still trailing the Rangers in the AL West but not by much and now they have a chance to take advantage of this home series and take the lead. Their offense has been getting a lot better lately as they are scoring more runs now and will be able to compete with this Rangers offense that has been one of the best in the league all season. The Astros have also had great pitching though and that is one area that the Rangers have struggled in this year. The Rangers have had a terrible bullpen that has been giving up a ton of late runs in games all season but they also have Heaney starting who hasn't been good in his starts. Heaney has been giving up a ton of runs in his starts all season and he will struggle with this Astros offense getting hot now. The Astros also have Valdez starting here and he has been one of their best starters in the rotation this season since he has been really reliable not giving up many runs in his starts. He will shut down this Rangers lineup with some help from the Astros bullpen while the offense takes care of business in this game against this terrible pitching staff for the Rangers. The best way to place a bet here is on the Astros to win this game.

Rangers Astros Prediction:  Our MLB Pick for Wednesday, July 26, 2023 (8:10 pm ET start time) is Astros 6 Rangers 3.

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Texas Rangers: 59-42 (+8.5 units) on the moneyline in all games. 33-20 (+11.4 units) on the moneyline when the total is 7 to 8.5. 27-12 OVER when the total is 8 to 8.5. ANDREW HEANEY is 36-15 OVER in all games. 

Houston Astros: 23-18 (-5.9 units) on the moneyline as a home favorite of -110 or higher. 21-19 (-8.2 units) on the moneyline at home when the total is 7 to 8.5. FRAMBER VALDEZ is 7-1 OVER as a favorite of -150 or more and 13-6 OVER at home when the total is 8 to 8.5.

Texas Rangers:  A. Garcia (RF) Ques Tues - Hand. C. Seager (SS) Out indefinitely - Thumb. J. Gray (SP) Prob Tues - Shin. J. Sborz (RP) Out indefinitely - Bicep. J. deGrom (SP) out for season - Elbow. J. Odorizzi (SP) out for season - Shoulder. B. Martin (RP) Out indefinitely - Shoulder.

Houston Astros:  J. Altuve (2B) Early Aug - Oblique. Y. Alvarez (LF) Early Aug - Oblique. J. Urquidy (SP) Early Aug - Shoulder. M. Brantley (DH) Out indefinitely - Shoulder. L. McCullers Jr. (SP) out for season - Elbow. L. Garcia (SP) out for season - Elbow.

“We couldn’t hold the lead and that’s too bad. These guys fought so hard. The offense, what a great job they did. We just walked too many guys. That came back to haunt us.” - Bruce Bochy after his team’s loss against the Astros in their game on Monday.

“That was the win of the year so far.” - Dusty Baker after his team’s win against the Rangers in their game on Monday.

Marcus Semien (R) 2B

Travis Jankowski (L) RF

Nathaniel Lowe (L) 1B

Josh Jung (R) 3B

Jonah Heim (S) C

Ezequiel Duran (R) SS

Brad Miller (L) DH

Leody Taveras (S) CF

Josh H. Smith (L) LF

Mauricio Dubon (R) 2B

Alex Bregman (R) 3B

Kyle Tucker (L) RF

Jose Abreu (R) 1B

Chas McCormick (R) LF

Yainer Diaz (R) DH

Jeremy Pena (R) SS

Jake Meyers (R) CF

Martin Maldonado (R) C

Batting Average:  Corey Seager (.350)

Hits:  Marcus Semien (115)

Home Runs:  Adolis Garcia (24)

RBI:  Adolis Garcia (80)

Stolen Bases:  Travis Jankowski (15)

Wins:  Nathan Eovaldi (11)

Saves:  Will Smith (17)

ERA:  Brock Burke (2.63)

Batting Average:  Kyle Tucker (.303)

Hits:  Kyle Tucker (109)

Home Runs:  Yordan Alvarez (17)

RBI:  Kyle Tucker (68)

Stolen Bases:  Kyle Tucker (18)

Wins:  Framber Valdez (8)

Saves:  Ryan Pressly (23)

ERA:  Hector Neris (1.48)

Managers:

Texas Rangers: Bruce Bochy (1st season)

Houston Astros: Dusty Baker (4th season)