Astros vs Rangers MLB Odds, Pick, Prediction (June 30)

Astros vs Rangers MLB Odds, Pick, Prediction (June 30) article feature image
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Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images. Pictured: Jon Gray (Rangers)

  • The Astros and Rangers square off in the series opener of the Lone Star Series at Globe Life Field on Friday night.
  • Will the offenses create fireworks in this affair? Dive into Astros vs. Rangers below to find out.
  • You'll also find Kenny Ducey's best bet for this AL West game.

Astros vs. Rangers Odds

Friday, June 30
8:05 p.m. ET
MLB.TV
Astros Odds
MoneylineTotalRun Line
+150
8.5
-115 / -105
+1.5
-140
Rangers Odds
MoneylineTotalRun Line
-1708.5
-115 / -105
-1.5
+120
Odds via bet365. Get up-to-the-minute MLB odds here.
Check out our MLB Betting Hub for more previews from today's slate.

Fresh off a four-game split with Detroit, the Texas Rangers will take aim at their in-state rivals this weekend when they welcome in the Houston Astros for three games.

With both offenses coming alive in recent games, will we see some fireworks here as we begin the holiday weekend?

Let's break it all down in my Astros vs. Rangers preview and prediction, which includes a betting pick.


Houston Astros

The Astros have had an interesting season at the plate, to say the least. They began the year without Jose Altuve and it took Jose Abreu almost two months to hit his first home run.

They currently sit 11th in wRC+, but they're beginning to experience some long-awaited positive regression.

Houston has the fifth-best expected wOBA and expected batting average in the league, according to Statcast, and over the last two weeks, it's cracked the top five in wRC+.

This team is walking in an extraordinary 10.7% of plate appearances and striking out in just 16.4%, posting a solid .190 ISO along the way. It's a step up for a team with a sub-9% walk rate and a 20.9% strikeout rate, though those numbers are still above average.

Now, let's discuss Ronel Garcia here for a second. He's posted a 4.70 ERA this month in his transition to the starting rotation and has yet to look the part in any of his starts.

He's walked 11 in 23 innings and has allowed two home runs in each of his last three starts, totaling seven for the month.

He's been an extreme fly ball pitcher at 14.3 points above the league average and his barrel rate of 12.2% is quite poor. The right-hander has strikeout upside, but has yet to figure out how to get outs via contact.


Texas Rangers

The Rangers have been just as hot as the Astros at the plate over the last two weeks, ranking third in wRC+ and sporting some excellent numbers all around.

They've posted a beefy .201 ISO with a solid 9.4% walk rate, hitting .289 along the way. While Texas hasn't seen a huge change in its home run-to-fly ball ratio or its fly ball rate, both marks remain firmly in the top 10 and have led to many home runs.

Speaking of which, Jon Gray has been excellent at limiting the gopher balls of late. He's posted a 3.09 ERA this month and has allowed just two homers in 23 1/3 innings.

His hard hit rate has sunk to 34.7% this year as he's learned to pitch better to contact with fewer strikeouts, though like Garcia, he's been a fly ball pitcher.

Gray has always sat around the league average when it comes to the batted ball numbers, but his 38.8% ground ball rate this year comes in roughly six points below average.

With that being said, he's seen a 10-point increase from May to June, which may be the reason for his recent success.

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Astros vs. Rangers Betting Pick

We've got two fly ball pitchers facing off here in a park ranked 13th in park factor for home runs, so this game very well may be decided by who can get the ball in the air more.

Houston is not only 16th in fly ball rate, but will be up against a pitcher who's been inducing ground balls at a higher rate in the last month.

The Rangers have also been marginally better at the plate than their counterparts here, and they will draw a pitcher who simply can't stop allowing home runs.

I think the line here is correct, and in an effort to back Gray and fade Garcia, I'm going to take the first five spread.

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About the Author
Kenny is a former member of the Baseball Writers Association of America and editor for Baseball Prospectus, and covered baseball, basketball and football for Sports Illustrated. He also specializes in tennis betting and DFS, and is a long-suffering Jets fan.

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