Two AL West division foes will face each other in a three-game series when the Houston Astros travel to Arlington, Texas, to face the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field. Game 1 of the series will start at 8:05 PM ET on Monday night and will air on Space City Home Network and Bally Sports Southwest.
The Houston Astros are on a two-game losing streak following a 0-1 shutout loss at home against the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 3 of their series on Sunday afternoon. This loss caused them to lose the series 1-2, the second consecutive series they had lost following a 1-2 series loss at home against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The Astros struggled in the series as they outscored 4-9, including their 5th shutout loss this season. Despite the loss, Spencer Arrighetti had one of his best starts this season, after pitching six innings, allowing one run, and recording 12 strikeouts; however, with the loss, Arrighetti has now lost his last three starts this season and has not won a game since the end of June. Houston enters the series against Texas in 2nd place in the AL West and trails the Seattle Mariners by a game for 1st place in the division.
The Astros have lost the last two games in the series and have been outscored by the Rangers by an average of 1.5 to 3 runs per game in those contests. The Houston Astros will look to end their two-game losing streak in the series when they travel to face the Texas Rangers for Game 1.
The defending World Series Champion, Texas Rangers, have been one of the most disappointing teams in baseball this season as they entered the season with an over/under win total of 88.5 games and enter the series against Houston six games under .500 at 53-59 and are on pace to win 77 games this season which puts them in 3rd place in the AL West, 5.5 games behind the Seattle Mariners, and 9.5 games behind the Kansas City Royals for the final Wild Card spot in the American League.
Texas is coming off a 1-2 series loss at home against the Boston Red Sox. In those matchups, the Red Sox outscored Texas by an average of 5 to 7.33 runs per game, including a 2-7 loss in Game 3 on Sunday. Texas scored the first two runs of the game, with Corey Seager hitting a one-run home run in the first inning and Josh Jung hitting a one-run home run in the second inning.
Nathan Eovaldi had one of his worst starts this season after pitching five innings, allowing five runs, and recording seven strikeouts, with the start also being the 4th time Eovaldi has allowed five or more runs this season. The Rangers have won the last two games in the series this season. However, they have split the previous ten matchups this season 5-5 with the Astros, with both teams averaging 5.1 runs per game in those contests.
The Texas Rangers will look to extend their winning streak in the series to three games when they host the Houston Astros for Game 1 of the series on Monday night.
WagerWeb lists the Houston Astros as -125 moneyline favorites on the road against the Texas Rangers for Game 1 of the series on Monday night. The teams have split the last ten games this season 5-5, with both teams averaging 5.1 runs per game in those contests. The Rangers have won two of the previous three games in the series; however, both teams averaged 3 runs per game in those matchups.
Houston has dominated the series on the road, winning 15 of the previous 18 road games. Texas has also struggled over its last five games, compiling a record of 1-4 entering the series against the Astros.
Andrew Heaney is 0-2 with a no-decision in his three starts against the Astros this season. As a result, I am taking the moneyline for the Houston Astros when they travel to face the Texas Rangers for Game 1 of the series on Monday night.
