Rangers vs. Astros odds opened with the defending champions favored to advance to another World Series.
The Rangers lost out in a grueling race to these Astros for AL West supremacy to find themselves in the Wild Card Round, but quickly dispatched of the Rays in a 2-0 sweep. They followed that up with a series against the 100-win and top-seeded Orioles, and also had their way with them, sweeping the series, 3-0. They're now 5-0 in the playoffs entering this series.
The Astros, who will host Games 1, 2, and potentially 6 and 7, opened as -175 favorites to advance to the World Series at FanDuel. The road Rangers are +115 underdogs.
Below, you'll find the full schedule for this series, as well as a breakdown of both teams and how they got to this point.
All odds cited below via FanDuel, which you can pair with our FanDuel promo code for bonus bets.
For updated odds on every series throughout the postseason, be sure to visit our MLB futures page. For individual game odds throughout the postseason at a variety of sportsbooks, visit our MLB odds page.
Rangers vs. Astros ALCS Schedule
- Game 1 at Houston: Sunday, Oct. 15, 8:15 p.m. ET, FOX
- Game 2 at Houston: Monday, October 16, 4:37 p.m. ET, FOX or FS1
- Game 3 at Arlington: Wednesday, October 18, 8:03 p.m. ET, FS1
- Game 4 at Arlington: Thursday, October 19, 8:03 p.m. ET, FS1
- Game 5 at Arlington: Friday, October 20, 5:07 p.m. ET, FS1 (if necessary)
- Game 6 at Houston: Sunday, October 22, 8:03 p.m. ET, FS1 (if necessary)
- Game 7 at Houston: Monday, October 23, 8:03 p.m. ET, FOX/FS1 (if necessary)
Texas Rangers
- World Series Odds: +320
- Pennant Odds: +115
- Regular Season Record: 90-72
- Team wRC+ (Rank): 115 (4th)
- Starting Pitching xFIP (Rank): 4.36 (19th)
- Bullpen xFIP (Rank): 4.43 (22nd)
How They Got Here
After a headline-stealing offseason in which the Rangers spent a ton of money to try and put a contender on the field, Texas got off to a fast start. The Rangers led the AL West from April 9 to August 26. They lost ground to the Astros after that, but reclaimed first place in late September before dropping the title on the final day of the season.
The Rangers also finished third in Isolated Power and hit fly balls at the second-highest frequency, plenty of which turn into home runs at the hitter-friendly Globe Life Field.
In the American League Wild Card Round, the Rangers beat the Rays 2-0. In the ALDS, they beat the Orioles 3-0.
Offense
Texas finished top five in wRC+ for the first time since 2012, a stunning turnaround after finishing 20th in that same category a season ago.
The Rangers’ offense has been well disciplined and sits in the top five in walk rate while maintaining average strikeout numbers.
Just about everyone in this offense has hit, and while you’re likely familiar with Corey Seager and Marcus Semien, you’ll also want to pay attention to catcher Jonah Heim and rookie Josh Jung. The former has been a pleasant surprise, swatting 18 home runs to go along with a .260 average, while the latter made his first All-Star appearance this season and posted a 111 OPS+.
Rotation
Both Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer are on the shelf with injuries. deGrom is rehabbing from Tommy John surgery and won’t be seen until next year, but there’s a chance Scherzer, who injured his shoulder this summer, will make it back for the playoffs.
Luckily, Jordan Montgomery has transformed into an excellent pitcher since coming over in a trade with the Cardinals. He owns a 2.79 ERA in 11 starts for Texas and will enter the postseason as the Rangers’ most trustworthy arm.
Nathan Eovaldi has taken a bit of a step back this season, but should still be a reliable option come October, and while Jon Gray hasn’t been great, he’s pitched to more contact this year, which has helped considering the Rangers rate very well on defense. There’s a chance we also see Dane Dunning make some starts this postseason after he posted an impressive 3.72 ERA during the regular season.
Bullpen
Aroldis Chapman regained some of his magic in a Royals uniform this season, but since coming over via trade, he’s posted a brutal 3.72 ERA in 29 innings. The bullpen is what’s going to ultimately hold this team back as Chapman has been of little use and the Rangers ranked 20th in bullpen ERA this season.
Starters such as Dunning, Cody Bradford, Andrew Heaney and Martin Perez will be pulled into helping this struggling stable in October, but given how all three have pitched, it’s looking pretty bleak. Jose Leclerc has been excellent and should take most of the high-leverage work, and perhaps the experienced Will Smith will rebound after a tough regular season. Time will tell.
—Kenny Ducey
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Houston Astros
- World Series Odds: +240
- Pennant Odds: -175
- Regular Season Record: 90-72
- Team wRC+ (Rank): 112 (5th)
- Starting Pitching xFIP (Rank): 4.36 (17th)
- Bullpen xFIP (Rank): 4.20 (14th)
How They Got Here
Unlike most recent seasons, the Astros have spent the majority of the year playing from behind in the AL West. They’ve fluctuated between the second and third wild-card spots in recent weeks, but their shellacking of the Mariners helped put them in pole position to finish ahead of Seattle for the third and final playoff spot in the American League.
In the ALDS, they beat the Twins three games to one.
Offense
Despite missing Jose Altuve for a chunk of the year, Houston had plenty of success at the plate with yet another top-five finish in wRC+. The Astros’ brilliance was in their ability to put the ball in play. Houston boasted one of the three lowest strikeout rates in baseball and it managed to couple that with a beefy Isolated Power that put it in the top 10 of the league.
As expected, Yordan Alvarez was the standout performer with a monstrous 173 OPS+. However, it was a big surprise that a 33-year-old Altuve finished second on the team in OPS+ after battling an injury early in the season. While Jeremy Pena took a step back, Kyle Tucker was even better this year and Michael Brantley is healthy and somehow still hitting .300, even at 36 years of age.
Rotation
The Astros’ rotation is utterly complicated, which is why they went out at the deadline and reacquired Justin Verlander. The reigning Cy Young Award winner owns a tidy 3.57 ERA since coming over from the Mets and also drastically improved his strikeout and walk numbers.
After that, it’s kind of a mess. Framber Valdez isn’t quite as dominant as he’s been in years past with waning ground-ball numbers, a troubling hard-hit rate and a poor xERA. He’ll certainly pitch out of the rotation in October, but it’s anyone's guess how he fares. After that, J.P. France has regressed significantly after many solid months and rookie Hunter Brown isn’t quite pitching well enough to get consistent starts in a playoff run.
The x-factor has to be Cristian Javier. Much was made of his fastball velocity as he fell off a cliff this summer, but that’s all poppycock. He made up for the very slim difference late in the season, one that was less than a mile an hour, and showed that it had little correlation to his results.
The real measuring stick for the preseason Cy Young hopeful is strikeouts and in September, he turned it up. Javier’s 33.4% whiff rate is his best since May and, as a result, he’s sat down 35.3% of the hitters he’s faced in September. Javier could be figuring it out at just the right time for the Astros, and despite a 4.74 ERA this month, the return of his strikeout prowess has to give Houston some reason to believe.
Bullpen
The Astros’ bullpen is also complicated as they just missed a top-five finish in ERA, but also find themselves right in the middle of the league in xFIP.
Regardless of how you feel about xFIP, you can’t deny that Bryan Abreu and Hector Neris are menacing. The pair have posted an ERA under two runs, and while Neris has struck out batters at a 28.9% clip, Abreu’s strikeout rate stands at a beastly 35%. The front end of this bullpen is fantastic, but this team will go as the middle of its bullpen goes. Can Kendall Graveman, Ryne Stanek and Phil Maton regain their past form?
—Kenny Ducey
