The Texas Rangers (66-67) fell short at home to an AL West foe last night with a loss to the visiting Los Angeles Angels (62-69). With every game more important than the last as the MLB season enters the home stretch, can the Rangers dig deep to stay alive in the AL Wild Card race, or will they fall further down the standings tonight?
Here’s a Rangers vs. Angels prediction and pick on DraftKings Sportsbook for Tuesday’s contest.
Rangers vs. Angels prediction, preview
Texas just can’t seem to pull above the .500 mark after dropping below it once more last night. The team does have an impressive 40-27 record at home, but yesterday’s loss was just another example of how poor this offense performs when at its worst. Texas mustered just five hits and were shut out 4-0, dropping to 5.5 games back of the final AL Wild Card spot. The team ranks 19th in OPS (.709) and 17th in batting average (.244) over the last month, so it’s not shocking to see them at 21st in scoring with 109 runs in that sample.
Even the elite pitching staff seems tired since they rank 18th in ERA (4.56) and 14th in WHIP (1.26), big drops after how they’ve paced the entire MLB in both stats over the full season. With stud pitcher Nathan Eovaldi now likely out for the remainder of the season, things are beginning to feel dire in Arlington.
On the flip side, Los Angeles has seen their own season slip away as they fought and failed to climb to .500 themselves. They’re 8.5 games out of the last Wild Card berth but are solid enough to become a thorn in opponents’ sides. The Angels ranks 20th in scoring over the last month and continue to rely on the home run for that output, bashing two more last night courtesy of Zach Neto and Logan O’Hoppe.
The Halos are fourth in homers this season, but don’t play well in other aspects at the plate. They’re still 29th in average over the last month (219) with the 22nd-ranked OPS (.695). They also strike out more than any other team in the sport, a serious flaw. As for the pitching, the Angels don’t win if they don’t score much — the staff ranks 24th in ERA over the last 30 days (5.25) and 26th in WHIP (1.42).
Rangers vs. Angels pick, best bet
DraftKings Sportsbook lists these teams as equals tonight with each holding -110 odds on the Moneyline. The run total sits at 8.5 for this matchup.
A couple of southpaws duel tonight in Texas. Patrick Corbin (4.61 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, 101 SO) takes the mound for the Rangers. He faces the Angels’ top arm, Yusei Kikuchi (3.42 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, 153 SO).
This game looks like a bit of a tough sell since it’s projected as a toss-up, but I feel pretty confident the Angels will cover the run line this evening. Corbin’s a vulnerable arm and Los Angeles doesn’t see much of a difference between their splits against righties and lefties. While he does grade out slightly above average in average exit velocity and hard-hit percentage, Corbin has allowed at least six hits in three of four starts this month and three or more earned runs in each game.
On the other side of things, Texas hits .227 with a .647 OPS against left-handers. Those numbers drop off a bit compared to their .236 average and .697 OPS vs. right-handers, so there’s reason to believe they may struggle against Kikuchi in this contest. While his advanced numbers aren’t great, this Rangers lineup isn’t one that sparks much confidence and the plus odds on Angels -1.5 make this a bet worth taking.
Best bet: LA Angels -1.5 (+149)
Click the odds on this bet to tail!
