Texas Rangers vs Houston Astros Prediction, 9/3/2020 MLB Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Texas Rangers vs Houston Astros

Date: Thursday, September 3, 2020

Location: Minute Maid Park in Houston, TX

TV: ATSW

Odds/Point Spread: Rangers (+149) Astros (-162)

Jose Altuve and the Houston Astros (19-15, 2nd in AL West) play the Texas Rangers (13-21, 4th in AL West) at Minute Maid Park on Thursday. The moneyline on this game has the Rangers coming in at +149 and the Astros are at -162. The over/under is set at 8. The pitchers who are expected to start are Lance Lynn and Zack Greinke.

Key Texas Rangers Injuries

8/31/2020 Rougned Odor 2B Eye Expected to be out until at least Sep 15
8/30/2020 Joe Palumbo RP Abdomen Expected to be out until at least Sep 10
8/28/2020 Danny Santana 1B Elbow Expected to be out until at least Sep 8
8/24/2020 Jesse Chavez RP Toe Expected to be out until at least Sep 8
8/20/2020 Willie Calhoun DH Hamstring Expected to be out until at least Sep 10
8/13/2020 Edinson Volquez RP Oblique Out for the season
7/30/2020 Jose Leclerc RP Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Sep 19
7/28/2020 Corey Kluber SP Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Sep 15
6/28/2020 Brock Burke SP Shoulder Out for the season

Key Houston Astros Injuries

9/1/2020 Josh James RP Hip Expected to be out until at least Sep 9
9/1/2020 Rogelio Armenteros RP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Sep 23
9/1/2020 Justin Verlander SP Forearm Expected to be out until at least Sep 18
8/28/2020 Jose Urquidy SP Undisclosed Expected to be out until at least Sep 5
8/25/2020 Brad Peacock SP Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Sep 2
8/25/2020 Chris Devenski RP Arm Expected to be out until at least Sep 2
8/24/2020 Alex Bregman 3B Hamstring Expected to be out until at least Sep 12
8/23/2020 Yordan Alvarez DH Knee Out for the season
8/12/2020 Roberto Osuna RP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Sep 20
8/7/2020 Austin Pruitt RP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Sep 15

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Rangers have a 13-21 overall record this season. Lynn has pitched in 1,394 frames and has totaled 1,382 K's in his MLB career. His ERA is 3.53 (546 ER's allowed) and he has a WHIP of 1.291. He has given up 1,278 hits (8.3 hits per nine innings) with 521 free passes. Lynn (102-69 record in his career) has a FIP of 3.65 while he has gone up against 5,906 opposing batters during his time in the major leagues. The bullpen has an earned run average of 4.92 and they have given up 114 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .196 against the bullpen and they've struck out 144 hitters and walked 74 batters. As a team, Texas allows 8.2 hits per nine innings while striking out 9.2 batters per nine innings. They are 24th in the league in team earned run average at 5.09. The Rangers pitchers collectively have given up 273 base hits and 169 earned runs. They have allowed 45 home runs this season, ranking them 18th in the league. Texas as a pitching staff has walked 144 batters and struck out 305. They have walked 4.3 men per 9 innings while striking out 9.2 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 1.40 and their FIP as a unit is 4.64.

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Hitting Statistics

As a team Texas is hitting .214, good for 30th in the league. The Rangers hold a .345 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .293, which is good for 29th in baseball. They rank 29th in MLB with 6.9 hits per game. Joey Gallo is hitting .176 with an on-base percentage of .331. He has 19 hits this season in 108 at bats with 16 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .407 and an OPS+ of 102. Shin-Soo Choo is hitting .209 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .295. He has totaled 19 hits and he has driven in 13 men in 91 at bats. His OPS+ is 74 while his slugging percentage is at .341. The Rangers have 236 hits, including 49 doubles and 28 home runs. Texas has walked 109 times so far this season and they have struck out 289 times as a unit. They have left 216 men on base and have a team OPS of .638. They score 3.71 runs per contest and have scored a total of 126 runs this year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

Houston has a 19-15 overall mark this year. Thus far in his career, Greinke has surrendered 2,693 base hits while he has accumulated 2,657 strikeouts in 2,912 innings pitched. He has surrendered a total of 1,082 earned runs while holding a WHIP of 1.156 and being the owner of a FIP of 3.5. His SO/W ratio is 3.95 and he has gone up against 11,886 batters during his career. Greinke (207-123 mark in his career) has earned a 3.34 earned run average while giving up 8.3 hits per 9 innings. The bullpen has an earned run average of 4.27 and they have given up 127 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .217 against the Astros bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 133 batters and walked 76 opposing hitters. As a team, Houston allows 8 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.8 batters per nine innings. They are 9th in the league in team earned run average at 4.19. The Astros pitchers as a team have surrendered 271 base knocks and 142 earned runs this season. They have given up 39 home runs this year, which ranks 25th in Major League Baseball. Houston as a staff has walked 141 hitters and struck out 297 batters. They give up a walk 4.2 times per 9 innings while they strike out 8.8 per 9. Their team WHIP is 1.35 while their FIP as a staff is 4.41.

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Hitting Statistics

As a team, they are batting .251, good for 13th in the league. The Astros hold a .425 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .331, which is good for 10th in baseball. They rank 12th in MLB with 8.5 hits per contest. Jose Altuve comes into this matchup batting .225 with an OBP of .287. He has 31 hits this year along with 12 RBI in 138 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .326 with an OPS+ of 64. George Springer is hitting .200 this season and he has an OBP of .333. He has collected 19 hits in 95 at bats while driving in 17 runs. He has an OPS+ of 96 and a slugging percentage of .400. The Astros as a unit have 288 base hits, including 65 doubles and 39 homers. Houston has walked 126 times this year and they have struck out on 255 occasions. They have had 222 men left on base and have an OPS of .756. They have scored 5.32 runs per game and totaled 181 runs this season.

Who will win tonight's Rangers/Astros MLB game against the spread?

Guy's Pick: Take the Rangers (+149)

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