Rangers vs Indians MLB Odds, Preview & Prediction.

Rangers vs Indians MLB Odds, Preview & Prediction

Written by on August 6, 2019

It’s a matchup of two young right-handers and two teams looking to stay in the Wild-Card hunt on Tuesday night as the Texas Rangers visit the Cleveland Guardians. The Tribe have been excellent at home this year and are favored on the MLB Lines.

How to Bet Rangers vs Indians MLB Odds & Game Info

Weather Forecast

  • Scattered Thunderstorms: 26°C/78°F
  • Humidity: 69%
  • Precipitation: 37%
  • Cloud Cover: 89%
  • Wind: 10 mph SSW
  • Stadium Type: Open

Why Bet on Texas?

The Rangers remain without close Shawn Kelley. He threw live batting practice in Nashville on Monday. If that workout goes smoothly, he’ll probably make a rehab appearance for Triple-A Nashville on Wednesday. Kelley, who’s been out since July 22 with right biceps soreness, could be back in the Rangers’ bullpen by the end of this week. Outfielder Joey Gallo is also on the injured list with a fractured wrist. Gallo was having the best year of his career with a .986 OPS and 22 home runs through 70 games played.

Danny Santana has racked up multiple hits in 12 of his 18 starts since the All-Star break and is tied with Tampa Bay’s Austin Meadows for the most triples in the American League with three since the break. Emmanuel Clase (1.2 IP) made his major league debut on Sun. vs. Detroit becoming the 12th overall player/11th pitcher to make his ML debut for Texas this season. The team record for pitchers to make their MLB debut in a single season is 13 in 2014.

It’s 23-year-old Ariel Jurado for the Rangers and is making his first career start against the Indians. Jurado didn’t factor into the decision in last Tuesday’s 8-5 loss to the Mariners, allowing four runs (three earned) on seven hits and two walks over four innings while striking out three. Jurado needed 86 pitches (55 strikes) to record 12 outs, giving up runs in each of the first three innings, and only a Texas rally in the sixth inning took Jurado off the hook for his seventh loss of the year. He’ll carry a 4.92 ERA and 64:27 K:BB through 86 innings into his next start.

Jurado is 1-2 with a 7.20 ERA in his previous four starts while going 4-2 with a 4.34 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP in six starts and six relief appearances on the road this season. Jurado has walked at least one batter in 15 straight outings, the longest such streak of his career and 2nd-longest by a Texas pitcher this season (21 by Mike Minor from 3/28-7/24). Opponents are slashing .305/.362/.512/.874 over last 4 starts. Jurado is 3-2, with 5.24 EAR (20 ER/34.1 IP) in 6 starts on the road this season, including 2-1, 3.79 (8 ER/19.0 IP) in his last 3 outings away from Arlington.

Team Stats

Offense
  • Runs: 5.34
  • Hits: 8.73
  • Walks: 3.35
  • Strike Outs: 9.92
Defense
  • Runs: 5.30
  • Hits: 9.35
  • Walks: 3.50
  • Strike Outs: 8.58

Why Bet on Cleveland?

The Indians are 36-23 (.610) at Progressive Field in 2019 entering this week, the 6th-best home win percentage in the AL and 8th-best in the Majors. Since June 4, Cleveland is 21-9 at home and 7-2-1 in series play.

Cleveland is 12-5 vs. the Rangers since the start of 2017, including 5 of 7 games at Progressive Field. The Indians have won or played to a draw in each of their last 6 series with Texas. Since 2017, the Tribe is hitting .306 (190-620) with a .890 OPS vs. the Rangers, both highest marks vs. Texas among AL opponents. Jason Kipnis is a career .308 (68-221) hitter with 10 home runs against the Rangers, his highest average against an AL opponent. Yasiel Puig carries a .324 average with three home runs in 10 career games vs. Texas, including hitting .583 (7-12) with two home runs and four RBI in a 3-game series with Cincinnati in 2019.

Rangers vs Indians is going to be a close one.

Starting pitcher Carlos Carrasco (cancer) is scheduled for a couple of bullpen sessions this week. They’re expected to come on Wednesday and Saturday in what will be his first mound work since he was diagnosed with leukemia back in May. Carrasco is feeling well and the hope remains that he returns at some point this season but it’s not a sure thing. He’s one of three starting pitchers on the injured list.

The Tribe’s Zach Plesac gave up four runs in five innings and still got a win over the Astros last Wednesday. He didn’t pitch too well but the Indians’ offense backed him up with 10 runs of support in the victory. Plesac surrendered a solo homer to Carlos Correa and a three-run double to Yuli Gurriel in the contest. All told he struck out three, walked three and allowed six base hits.

He improved to 6-3 with a 3.41 ERA in 12 starts. His pedestrian 47:25 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 66 innings indicates his ERA could climb as the season unfolds even though the rookie has a 3.04 ERA in 23 2/3 innings over his last five starts.

Team Stats

Offense
  • Runs: 4.68
  • Hits: 8.33
  • Walks: 3.46
  • Strike Outs: 8.11
Defense
  • Runs: 4.02
  • Hits: 7.90
  • Walks: 2.82
  • Strike Outs: 9.39

Rangers vs Indians MLB Betting Trends

  • Rangers are 2-8 in their last 10 vs. a team with a winning record
  • Indians are 4-0 in Plesac’s last 4 starts vs. a team with a winning record
  • Rangers are 6-12 SU in their last 18 games against Cleveland
  • The total has gone UNDER in 9 of Texas’ last 12 games on the road
  • Indians are 14-6 SU in their last 20 games against an opponent in the American League
  • The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Cleveland’s last 6 games against Texas

Expert Final Score Prediction for Rangers vs Indians

Texas Rangers 4 – Cleveland Indians 6