Here come the Rangers. Texas (53-53) moved to within six games of Houston for the AL West lead with a thrilling 4-3 victory on Tuesday night. The Rangers will look to trim that deficit even further when they face the Astros in their series finale tonight.
Who will emerge victorious in this critical AL West matchup? Read on below for an in-depth breakdown of this important ballgame and while you’re at it, you can check out our preview of the game between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox.
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Houston Astros vs. Texas Rangers Preview
Where: Globe Life Park in Arlington, Arlington, Texas
When: Wednesday, August 5, 8:05 PM ET
Line: Houston Astros (-150) at Texas Rangers (+135); total: 9.5 – view all MLB lines
Betting on the Houston Astros
Houston’s losing woes continued on Tuesday as the Astros suffered a tough 4-3 defeat to the Texas Rangers. It was the second consecutive loss for the Astros who dropped down to 60-48 in the AL West standings. With the Astros struggling for form right now, the pressure is on Scott Kazmir (6-5, 2.10 ERA) to deliver a great start for Houston tonight.
[sc:MLB240banner ]He has been incredible in his first two starts for the Astros, throwing 14.2 scoreless innings and allowing just six hits. He surrendered just three hits and three walks in 7.2 innings of work in his last start against the Angels. He had the best ERA among starting pitchers in the month of July, posting a remarkable 0.26 average.
That being said, he will have his work cut out for him against a Texas team that is sixth in the majors in runs scored (469) this season. The Astros need to step it up on the offensive end as well if they are to beat the Rangers tonight. Expected to lead the Houston offense in this series finale is the red-hot Carlos Correa. He is 10-for-32 in his last eight games with five homers and seven RBIs. Jose Altuve is primed for a huge game tonight as well. He is 4-of-10 lifetime against Texas starter Nick Martinez with three doubles.
Texas stretched its unbeaten run to three games with a 4-3 victory over Houston on Tuesday night. The Rangers will look to keep their winning streak intact when they face the Astros in the final game of their three-game set tonight.
Starting for Texas this evening is right-hander Nick Martinez (6-6, 4.01 ERA). He snapped a four-game losing rut with his last start against San Francisco, in which he went 6.1 innings. He allowed just two runs on seven hits in that 6-3 victory against the Giants. However, he has now allowed at least seven hits in his last seven outings. He has been a workhorse for the Rangers, though, throwing at least six innings on 10 occasions this season.
Given Martinez’s inconsistency, the onus is on the Rangers offense to pick up the scoring slack tonight. One guy who’s expected to contribute on the offensive end tonight is Adrian Beltre. The third baseman has been on fire of late, going 12-of-32 in his last eight games with two homers and five RBIs. He has 10 hits in 43 career at-bats against Kazmir with one homer and three RBIs.
The Rangers are 6-1 in their last seven home games.
