Houston Astros vs Texas Rangers Prediction 7-14-24 Picks

In this article we will formulate a Houston Astros vs Texas Rangers prediction for this MLB game on Sunday, July 14th at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas. Let’s take a look at the prediction for game three in the series.

Astros are Right Behind Seattle 

The Houston Astros are 50-45 this season and they have won four of their last five games. Houston won the first game in this series by a score of 6-3 on Friday, but they did lose game two on Saturday. Prior to this series, the Astros swept the Marlins in three games, lost two out of three against the Twins, and won three out of four against the Blue Jays. Houston is 10-4 in their last 14 games and they are one game behind Seattle in the AL West. 

The Houston pitching staff has a 4.03 ERA, a 1.31 WHIP, and a .239 opponent batting average. The Astros offense has scored 455 runs with a .263 batting average and a .323 on base percentage. Alex Bregman is batting .256 with 12 home runs and 47 RBI’s for the Astros this season. Houston has scored at least six runs in three of their last four games. 

Rangers are Getting Better 

The Texas Rangers are 45-50 this year and they have won six of their last eight games. Texas lost the first game in this series, but they did win game two by a score of 2-1 on Saturday. Prior to this series, the Rangers won two out of three against the Angels, swept the Rays in three games, and lost two out of three against the Padres. Texas is 8-4 in their last 12 games and they are third in the AL West. 

The Texas pitching staff has a 4.00 ERA, a 1.26 WHIP, and a .231 opponent batting average. The Rangers offense has scored 410 runs with a .242 batting average and a .312 on base percentage. Marcus Semien is batting .241 with 13 home runs and 51 RBI’s for the Rangers this season. Texas has scored at least five runs in three of their last six games. 

Starting Pitchers

The projected starting pitcher for Texas is Max Scherzer, who is 1-2 with a 3.09 ERA and a 0.94 WHIP over 23.1 innings pitched this year. Scherzer has allowed three earned runs in each of his last two starts against the Padres and Angels. The projected starting pitcher for Houston is Ronel Blanco, who is 9-3 with a 2.53 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP over 103.0 innings pitched this season. Blanco has allowed two earned runs or fewer in four of his last five starts. 

Why the Astros will beat the Rangers

• The Astros have won each of their last seven games at Minute Maid Park following a loss.
• The Rangers have lost each of their last five games at Minute Maid Park after going to extra innings.
• The Astros have covered the run line in each of their last nine home games after playing the previous day.
• The Rangers have failed to cover the run line in each of their last six day games against AL West opponents.
• The Astros have led after 3 innings in each of their last six Sunday games.
• The Astros have led after 5 innings in each of their last six Sunday day games against the Rangers at Minute Maid Park.

Total Runs Facts

• Seven of the Astros’ last eight games after going to extra innings have gone UNDER the total runs line.
• Five of the Rangers’ last six day games against American League opponents have gone UNDER the total runs line.
• The ‘Inning 1 OVER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in each of the last six day games between the Rangers and Astros.
• The ‘Inning 1 OVER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in each of the Rangers’ last four day games at Minute Maid Park.

Houston Astros Player Prop Facts

• Alex Bregman has hit a home run in four of his last five home appearances against the Rangers after playing the previous day.
• Jose Altuve has recorded at least one total base in each of the Astros’ last 10 games against AL West opponents.
• Jose Altuve has recorded at least one hit in each of the Astros’ last 10 games against AL West opponents.
• Alex Bregman has scored at least one run in each of the Astros’ last eight home games.
• Jose Altuve has recorded at least one Single in seven of his last eight appearances in day games against teams that held a losing record.
• Alex Bregman has recorded at least one RBI in four of the Astros’ last five games against opponents that held a losing record.

Texas Rangers Player Prop Facts

• Marcus Semien has hit a home run in two of the Rangers’ last three games against the Astros.
• Corey Seager has recorded at least one total base in each of his last 12 appearances against opponents that held a winning record.
• Max Scherzer has recorded six or more strikeouts in 16 of his last 19 road appearances against AL West opponents.
• Corey Seager has recorded at least one hit in each of his last 12 appearances against opponents that held a winning record.
• Marcus Semien has scored at least one run in eight of his last nine appearances.
• Adolis Garcia has recorded at least one Single in nine of the Rangers’ last 10 games against the Astros.
• Nathaniel Lowe has recorded at least one RBI in each of his last four road appearances against the Astros after playing the previous day.

Matchup/League Facts

• The Houston Astros rank 1st in the league for batting average this season (.263).
• The Houston Astros rank 2nd in the league for hits this season (860).
• The Texas Rangers rank T27th in the league for doubles this season (131).
• The Texas Rangers rank 4th in the league for hits allowed this season (724).

Houston Astros vs Texas Rangers Prediction 

Houston comes into this game after dropping game two of this series on Saturday, but they are right behind Seattle in the AL West standings. The Astros are 28-20 at home, while the Rangers are 21-29 on the road. Texas is playing better over the last two weeks, but Houston seems to be one of the hottest teams in baseball since mid-June. The Astros are starting Blanco, who has been electric this year. The Rangers are going with Scherzer, who has only made four starts and has looked alright. This is a very interesting pitching matchup, but I need to see more from Scherzer before backing him in a big spot here. My Houston Astros vs Texas Rangers prediction is for Houston to win.