The Texas Rangers enter Saturday leading the league in runs per game and will look to continue to put up big numbers when they host the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Texas Rangers (-130, 9)
For the Rangers, they entered the series averaging just under 5.9 runs per game, with that nine going up to more than 6.2 runs per game at home with the most home runs per at-bat of any American League team at home this season while also leading the league in home on-base plus slugging with a starting lineup on Friday that featured eight of their nine starters owning a batting average of at least .272 this season.
Rookie Bobby Miller gets the task of starting on the mound and trying to slow down this lineup as he enters with a 5-1 record, but also a 4.25 ERA with three walks allowed per nine innings and having allowed at least three runs in four of his last five starts.
Miller is backed up by a Dodgers offense that is also plenty lethal, ranking second in the league in home runs and percentage of at-bats that result in a walk while their 5.5 runs per game on the road entering the series ranked fourth in the league.
The Rangers send starting pitcher Dane Dunning out to try to keep the Dodgers off the board as Dunning enters with an 8-2 record and a 2.82 ERA, but while those surface numbers are good, the advanced numbers say regression is coming.
Dunning has a fielding independent that is more than a full point higher than his ERA at 3.90 while getting a career-low 5.7 strikeouts per nine innings while opponents have a .234 batting average off of him after his opponents batting average was .271 in his first two years with the Rangers.
To the Dodgers credit, they entered the series with the best bullpen ERA among all MLB teams in the past 30 days, but still are 19th in the leaguer overall in bullpen ERA this season while the Rangers are 25th in bullpen ERA this season.
With the Dodgers road ERA 26th in the league at 5.01 entering the series and with two of the most powerful offenses in the league, runs will be plentiful in Texas on Saturday.
The Play: Dodgers vs. Rangers Over 9
