Texas Rangers vs Houston Astros Prediction, 8/11/2022 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Texas Rangers vs Houston Astros

Date: Thursday, August 11, 2022

Location: Minute Maid Park in Houston, TX

TV: AT&T SportsNet Southwest

Odds/Point Spread: Texas (+280) Houston (-340)

The Houston Astros (71-40) are welcoming the Texas Rangers (48-61) at Minute Maid Park on Thursday. The moneyline on this contest has the Rangers at +280 while the Astros are at -340. The total is set at 7.5. The pitchers expected to start will be Cole Ragans and Framber Valdez.

As a team, the Texas Rangers are recording 4.5 runs per game, which has them at 13th in the league. They have racked up 486 runs scored while holding a team OBP of .301. The Rangers have accumulated 154 doubles as a team and have hit 136 balls out of the park. They have 459 runs batted in in addition to 884 base knocks on the year, while their team batting average is sitting at .239. Texas has a slugging rate of .397 and have been called out on strikes 958 times, while taking a walk on 314 occasions.

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The Rangers have an earned run average of 4.10 for the year (21st in the league), and their staff has rung up 896 hitters. They have accumulated a K/BB ratio of 2.36 and their pitching staff has earned a collective WHIP of 1.31. Rangers pitchers have conceded 112 long balls in addition to 489 runs (21st in the league). Their pitching staff has walked 380 players from the other team and their FIP sits at 4.09 as a squad for the year.

The Rangers have sent 367 relief pitchers to the hill on the campaign. The relievers have inherited 135 runners on the campaign with 31.9% of them ended up scoring. They have earned 24 saves for the year and have blown 18 of their 42 chances to save the game. The Rangers bullpen have recorded a save rate of 57.1% and stepped onto the hill in 97 save situations. The relievers have earned 55 holds on the campaign (17th in baseball). Rangers pitchers have entered the contest with players on base 89 times and also have had 121 appearances in high leverage situations.

The Texas Rangers have accounted for 2,883 putouts for the season, in addition to 1,006 assists and 67 errors. Their fielding percentage is holding steady at .983 which has them sitting 24th in pro baseball, and they have twisted 90 double plays. The Rangers have turned 69.6% of balls hit into play into outs out of their 8,649 innings, ranking them 16th in professional baseball.

Ragans has taken the ball for 5 innings and has tallied 3 strikeouts during his career. His earned run average is 0.00 (0 ER's allowed) and he has a career WHIP of 1.400. He has given up 3 base knocks (5.4 hits per 9 innings) and has had 4 free passes. Ragans (0-0 career record) sits with a FIP of 4.31 while he has gone up against 22 batters in the majors.

Houston has hit 152 home runs for the season and 478 runs batted in. They have put up 194 doubles, while walking 377 times and recording 493 runs. The Houston Astros have tallied an OBP of .316 in addition to a batting average of .241 for the year. The Astros have a team slugging % of .422 and they score 4.44 runs per game (14th in baseball). They have struck out on 823 occasions (28th in MLB) and have notched a total of 888 hits.

The Astros hold a team WHIP of 1.087 with a FIP of 3.50 as a pitching staff so far this year. Their strikeout to walk ratio is 3.19 (987 strikeouts against 309 walks). They rank 1st in MLB as a pitching staff in total hits relinquished with 759. They have conceded 98 HR's and they relinquish 3.34 runs per 9 innings (2nd in the league). The Houston pitching staff have given up 365 runs this year while having a team ERA of 3.00 (327 earned runs yielded).

Houston has called on bullpen pitchers to take the mound in 43 save opportunities and they have tallied 32 saves. They are ranked 2nd in MLB holding a save rate of 74.4%, and they have dispatched 321 relief pitchers to the hill this season. Their relief pitchers have come in 103 times in high leverage situations and on 70 occasions with runners on. Houston relievers have an inherited score percentage of 26.4% out of their 106 inherited runners. With 111 save situations, the Astros have 68 holds and 11 blown saves.

The Houston Astros have turned 79 double plays and have earned a fielding percentage of .986 (12th in MLB). The Astros have accrued 843 assists, 54 errors and have accounted for 2,921 putouts over the course of the season. Out of their 8,763 innings played, the Astros hold a defensive efficiency of 72.7% (1st in baseball).

During his pro baseball career, Valdez has surrendered 376 hits while he has tallied 423 punch outs in 448 innings. He has conceded 173 ER's while earning a WHIP of 1.263 and a FIP of 3.8. He has a strikeout to walk ratio of 2.23 and he has faced 1,896 batters so far in his MLB career. Valdez (34-21 career win-loss record) has earned a 3.48 earned run average and has given up 7.6 hits per 9 innings.

Who will win tonight's MLB game against the spread or moneyline?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Texas (+280)

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