The MLB regular season’s conclusion sits just over a week out, and as things currently stand, the AL Wild Card race seems it’ll go down to the wire. The Rangers (79-74) are four games shy of the final spot, but a series between the AL West leaders may allow Texas to sneak back into the postseason picture. On Friday night, they kick off a three-game series against the Miami Marlins (73-80) with dreams of a playoff berth still alive. Can the Rangers gain any ground with time running out?
Here’s a Rangers vs. Marlins prediction and pick on DraftKings Sportsbook for tonight.
Rangers vs. Marlins prediction, preview
The Rangers were red-hot going into their last series against the Houston Astros, but a sweep set them back significantly and leaves the team riding a four-game losing streak. Despite winning six straight contests beforehand, all momentum feels lost for Texas as they head back to Globe Life Field for this homestand. Over 15 games in September, the Rangers are scoring just 3.8 runs per night with an offense that hasn’t seen many high-scoring outings lately. They’re batting just .230 with a .661 OPS, the sixth-worst mark of any team this month. A noticeable lack of power with just 12 home runs and a .125 ISO are holding this team’s upside back some, but while the Rangers are top-10 in both K% and BB%, they’re not seeing positive results at the plate. Things aren’t going well on offense, so a 3.63 ERA and 1.16 WHIP from the pitching staff are both top-10 marks arguably going to waste.
The Marlins are all but eliminated from the NL Wild Card chase at six games back, but they’ve played well as of late with a 7-3 record across their last 10 games as well as a three-game winning streak. This offense has produced well this month with 4.9 runs per contest in 16 games while batting .248 with a respectable .712 OPS. Miami’s seen a downtick in power with 17 homers and a .145 ISO, but batters are producing the second-best BB/K in the sport at .50 thanks to an MLB-low 16.6 K%. Now, a 4.78 ERA this month doesn’t look so great for the Marlins, nor does a 4.50 FIP, but a 1.34 WHIP remains respectable and the arms are getting just enough done for the offense to carry the fish to victory.
Rangers vs. Marlins pick, best bet
The Rangers enter as -151 Moneyline favorites at home tonight on DraftKings Sportsbook. The Marlins are +124 underdogs with the run total set at eight combined runs. The under holds a slight edge, favored at -112 odds.
Tyler Mahle (2.34 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 56 SO) gets the start for Texas this evening and tends to keep opponent exit velocity down, though that may not be a huge issue for Miami since the bats aren’t exactly driving the ball at the moment. He faces Janson Junk (4.48 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 68 SO), who hasn’t limited runs but does boast top-tier control with just a 3.2% BB%.
The Marlins’ offense does look good at the moment, but they may have some issues against Mahle this evening. Conversely, the Rangers’ bats haven’t played well but do have the opportunity to put up runs against Junk, whose ERA sits at 6.39 over his last seven starts with an elevated WHIP of 1.37. This feels like a bit of a toss-up in all honesty, but I do like the Rangers to post some runs against Miami’s starter in a get-right spot. They have so much more to play for than their opponent, so I feel Texas responds accordingly. Over 2.5 runs in the first five innings makes a ton of sense at plus money.
Best bet: TEX Rangers over 2.5 runs in first five innings (+120)
Click the odds on this bet to tail!
