Texas And Houston MLB AL West Divisional Matchup Free Picks

The red-hot Houston Astros will look to extend their winning ways when they host the struggling Texas Rangers in their AL West divisional showdown on Wednesday – and hey, if a fight breaks out, don’t be surprised after Monday’s fireworks. Houston is sitting on top in the division with the best record in the American League while Texas is in last place and has recorded just three road wins this season. Now, let’s find out if the Rangers can get the rare road win to upset the rival Astros and review more about the updated MLB betting odds.

Analyzing The Rangers And Astros MLB AL West Divisional Matchup Free Picks

When: Wednesday, May 3 at 8:10 PM ET Where: Minute Maid Park TV: FSSW, ROOTSW Radio: 105.3 The Fan, KFLC 1270, La Nueva 94.1 FM, KBME 790 Pitchers: Texas – Nick Martinez – R (0-0, 2.77 ERA, 10 K)  / Houston – Charlie Morton – R (2-2, 4.50 ERA, 31 K Live Stream: MLB.TV MLB Odds: TBA    

Why Bet The Texas Rangers Odds

The best reason to back the Rangers in this contest is that they’re a bit desperate to pick up some road wins and narrow the gap on the Astros. Texas has lost two straight and five of their lat seven game overall including their 6-2 loss to the Astros in their series opener on Monday. The game featured some fireworks in the sixth inning when Astros starter Lance McCullers threw behind Rangers first baseman Mike Napoli. The pitch came after Texas right-hander Andrew Cashner had previously hit two batters and Napoli pounded a 427-foot home run to straightaway center off McCullers for a 2-1 Texas lead in the fourth. Both benches and bullpens cleared after the McCullers’ pitch behind Napoli. “Obviously, I didn’t like it,” Napoli said. “I’ve been in the game a long time. I understand how things work. Two of their guys get hit, but all he has to do is put it in my hip and I run down to first base. No one likes 95 behind their back. It is what it is.” For this contest, Texas will hand the ball to right-hander Nick Martinez in his third start of the season. Martinez gave up three earned runs on five hits, including two home runs in six innings of the Rangers’ 6-3 loss to the Angels on Friday. Martinez is 3-1 with a 2.33 ERA in four starts and three relief appearances in his career against the Astros.

Why Bet The Houston Astros Odds

The best reason to back the Astros in this contest is because Houston h been phenomenal in ranking second in team batting average (.271) and an identical second in team ERA (3.33). The Astros have gone 10-5 at home this season and have won two straight and three of their last five games overall. On Monday night, Carlos Correa smacked a two-run double during a five-run seventh inning in the Astros’ 6-2 win over the Texas Rangers at Minute Maid Park. Correa followed an infield RBI single from George Springer and a run-scoring double by Jose Altuve with a screaming line drive past the Rangers’ drawn-in infield to put Houston up 5-2. Yuli Gurriel added a double to left-center field that scored Correa and capped off the win for the Astros. “It was a good win,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. “I thought we threw the ball well. We broke out finally in the seventh inning with a couple of bullets by Altuve and Correa — middle of the order, what they’re supposed to do in the big spots. A really nice, all-around win. Slow to warm up but then a little adrenaline at some point.” For this contest, the Astros will hand the ball to right-hander Charlie Morton. The 33-year-old hurler gave up four runs on five hits while striking out a career-high 12 in Houston’s 9-4 win over Oakland on Saturday.

Expert Pick & Final Score Prediction

The Houston Astros are the easy pick in this contest, seeing as how they’ve gone 10-2 in their last 12 home games against a right-handed starter, 5-1 in their last 6 home games and a robust 14-4 in their last 18 games against a right-handed starter. On the flip side of the coin, the Texas Rangers have struggled mightily in going 1-4 in their last five games against a right-handed starter, 1-5 in their L/6 games against the AL West division rivals and 1-8 in Nick Martinez’s last nine road starts. Houston will get the big win to stretch their division lead in the AL West just a bit more.

My final score prediction is Houston 7 Texas 4