Baseball. MLB. Regular season
Texas Rangers vs Houston Astros
Stadium: be Life Park (Arlington)
26.04.2022. 03:05 (UTC+3)
The rivalry between Houston and the Texas Rangers is one of the hottest in the MLB. Let's pick a few bets on their first meetup this year.
Claim Your Welcome Bonus!Texas finally wins
Ahead of their home series with the Astros, the Rangers finally won their first showdown of the new season. Chris Woodward's team defeated the Oakland Athletics, another season underdog, 8-1, 2-0, 0-2 on the road. That success, though, did not help Texas move out of last place in the American League West, holding a 5-10 balance.
The Rangers' starting pitcher for the upcoming game against Houston is Dane Dunning, a 27-year-old right-hander from Florida. In three starts in the new season, the pitcher is 0-1 and has a 5.68 ERA.
Houston is just warming up
Surprisingly, the Astros approach the first series of the season against Texas second to last in the division with a 7-8 balance. Dusty Baker's team clearly hasn't had time to get into a game rhythm yet. Ahead of their trip to Arlington, Houston had two straight home losses, first to the Los Angeles Angels (8-3, 2-7, 0-6) and then to Toronto (3-4, 2-3, 8-7).
Framber Valdez will pitch for the Astros in the upcoming game. In three starts in the new season, the 28-year-old Dominican is 1-1 and has a 4.50 ERA.
Head-to-head encounters
Last season the rivals finished the series 14-5 in favor of Houston.
Expert Betting Tips
Given the lackluster start to the new season, it would not be surprising if Houston wins all four games of the upcoming series. Beating the underdog, as they did last season, could be an important factor in the Astros' final success in the regular season. In addition, the first game is personally important for pitcher Framber Valdez, who failed his last game by allowing 6 runs, but in his first two starts, he allowed only 1 run in 2 games.
Prediction: a solid win for Houston.
Betting options
- Houston Astros To Win for 1.71;
- Handicap Houston Astros (-1.5) for 2.15;
- Houston To Win + Total Over (6.5) for 2.20.
TelecomAsia Sport is looking for a Qatar-based video blogger to work during the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Contact jobs@telecomasia.net for more information.