Texas Rangers vs Houston Astros Prediction: An open contest for the two sides

On Saturday, game 5 of the American League Championship Series playoffs will take place at Globe Life Field, featuring a matchup between the Houston Astros and the Texas Rangers. Let's take a look at the matchup ahead of us and make a forecast.

After suffering consecutive defeats, the Texas Rangers are looking to get back on track in order to grab a 3-2 lead in the series. The pitching staff for the Texas Rangers has to get their act together as they have given up 18 runs and 23 hits over the course of their last two games. The Texas Rangers have also just come off a loss in which they were a perfect 4-0 with runners in scoring position. When they have given up five runs or more in any of their most recent five games, the Texas Rangers have come out on the losing end. Since September 16–18, the Texas Rangers have not suffered a losing streak of three games in a row. The Texas Rangers are led in hits and runs batted in by Adolis Garcia, who has 11, while Josh Jung and Corey Seager have combined for a total of 22 hits and 12 RBI. This is Jordan Montgomery's turn to pitch; he finished the season with a record of 10-11, a 3.20 earned run average, and 166 strikeouts. In his career, Montgomery has pitched well in the postseason, compiling a record of 2-0 with a 1.88 ERA and 20 strikeouts. Every single one of the last 12 matchups between the Houston Astros and the Texas Rangers has ended with the underdog covering the run line. Every single one of the Texas Rangers' most recent five-day games against opponents who held a winning record ended with them holding the lead after seven innings.

The Houston Astros are looking to win their third consecutive game in order to grab a 3-2 lead in the series. The Houston Astros have made significant strides on the offensive front in their most recent two games, scoring 18 runs in the two contests. This is a significant jump from the four runs they scored in their first two games of the season. When scoring at least five runs in a postseason game, the Houston Astros have a perfect 4-0 record. When scoring five or more runs in a game, the Houston Astros have won seven consecutive games overall. Yordan Alvarez has a team-high 13 hits and leads the Astros in runs batted in with 13, while Jose Altuve and Jose Abreu have combined for 17 hits and 13 RBI between the two of them. The next pitcher is Justin Verlander, who finished the season with a 13-8 record, a 3.22 earned run average, and 144 strikeouts. In his career, Verlander has posted a postseason record of 17-12 with a 3.51 earned run average and 241 strikeouts. In each of the last eight games that the Houston Astros have played against the Texas Rangers, they have won despite being odds-on underdogs. In every single one of the last eight games that the Houston Astros have played against the Texas Rangers as underdogs, they have covered the run line.

The Texas Rangers seemed to have the upper hand in the series, but then they let a team with championship experience square the score and take away all of their momentum. Honestly, this is a precarious situation to be in, as they now have to avoid defeat again. Now, the Houston Astros send out Verlander, a veteran pitcher who has seen it all and has thrown 220.1 innings of postseason work throughout the course of his career. For contests exactly like this one, the Houston Astros decided to make another trade for Verlander. In 104 at-bats against current batters, the Astros have a batting average of.260, which indicates that they have been successful against Montgomery. It appears as though the Houston Astros are in a favorable position, as their future Hall of Famer is currently pitching. As a result, I believe that the Astros will definitely cover the run line in this contest, and I am also very certain that their veteran roster will be a significant asset for them once again.