The Texas Rangers entered their current home series with the Cincinnati Reds at .500 and will look to get on a roll Thursday when offseason acquisition Michael Lorenzen takes the mound.
Cincinnati Reds vs. Texas Rangers (-120, 8.5)
Lorenzen spent last season with both the Philadelphia Phillies and Detroit Tigers, posting a 4.18 ERA overall with 6.5 strikeouts to 2.8 walks per nine innings with a fielding independent of 4.46.
This season, Lorenzen has a similar 4.51 fielding independent but a 2.45 ERA despite registering 6.5 walks per nine innings with also supplying nine strikeouts per nine innings.
The Rangers back up Lorenzen with a bullpen that entered the series 21st in the league with a 4.21 ERA and faces a Reds lineup that came into Friday eighth in the league with 5.1 runs per game.
Countering on the mound for the Reds is Hunter Greene, who’s had issues throughout his career of allowing home runs with a career 4.61 ERA and 4.20 fielding independent since his rookie season in 2022, surrendering 3.6 walks and 1.5 home runs per nine innings while also getting 11.9 strikeouts per nine innings.
Greene’s job is to limit a lineup that last season led the American League in both runs and home runs per game at home, though to start 2024, entered the series tied for 15th in home runs and averaging 4.7 runs per game at home.
With Lorenzen appearing due for regression and Greene against a Rangers lineup that has a lot of the same pieces from last year’s World Series winning team, Saturday sets up for an offensive eruption.
The Play: Reds vs. Rangers Over 8.5 Runs
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