14th Sept – Rangers vs Astros

22:59
Expired

Texas Rangers

Houston Astros

Just one game separates these two teams and a lot of that can be credited to the strong play by the Texas Rangers down the stretch. They’ve played especially well at home improving in all aspects of the game, putting pressure on the Yankees in the Wildcard race and on the Astros for the division lead.

Cole Hamels has been a part of that improvement, pitching brilliantly after a poor first few outings in a Rangers uniform. He hasn’t allowed a home run in five straight starts, which is pretty good in Arlington.

The Astros have just slipped slightly in September going 2-4 on a 10-game road trip and failing to improve away from home field (29-42 on the road overall). They are 7-20 at the Globe Life Park since 2012 and have struggled against Texas all season long losing 11 of 15.

Scott Kazmir is running out of time to hit postseason form (and a playoff berth isn’t secure). He has struggled since being acquired by the Astros midseason. He is 1-5 with a 4.28 ERA over a recent seven-game stretch, which has seen his overall record drop to 9-8, 3.78 ERA. Kazmir is a good pitcher though and surely just needs a quality start.

Three Reasons for Betting Tips

1. Tipping the pitchers to play well

Hamels has been playing good baseball generally and we think Kazmir will pull a quality start out of the bag here. He’s a good pitcher and his overall season performance is still relatively strong. We think he’ll put it together on Monday night, almost based on the law of averages.

2. Astros find a way

They’ve surprised everyone all season long disrupting the Rangers vs Angels story in the AL West. Perhaps they’ll fall apart over the last few games, many teams have done that in the past. However, we think that this roster has enough grit and determination to pull a series opening win out of the bag, even if they lose the series overall.

3. No Home Runs

HRs run up score-lines, but Hamels has been keeping big hitters quiet of late and we think Kazmir and the Astros will find a way to do the same on the other mound.