25th Sept - Astros vs Rangers

The Houston Astros opened up their previous series against the Texas Rangers with a lead in the AL West division. They’ve lost that lead and are now battling for their postseason future as they prepare to open their last three-game set starting on Friday night.

They own just a one and a half game advantage over the LA Angels for the final Wildcard spot and they’ve lost seven of their last 10 games, including two of three in their most recent series against LA. Houston owns a losing record away from Minute Maid Park, which makes this final home series of the season all the more pivotal.

Scott Kazmir pitches for Houston in this match-up. His loss of form has been a part of Houston’s wider struggles, he’s posted an 0-2 record with a 4.50 ERA over his last five starts.

It’s not an easy task against a Texas line-up that has rounded into form. The Rangers are ranked at the top of the MLB for home runs, hits and batting average over the last 10 games, during a stretch where they won four straight against the Astros and have won eight of 10 overall.

Even before the recent stretch, the Rangers had the better of this match-up and they’ve now won seven straight. Yovani Gallardo pitches tonight, he’s 12-11 with a 3.41 ERA on the season and he’s enjoyed success against Houston in general too.

Three Reasons for Betting Tips

1. Texas as underdogs

Getting the Rangers as underdogs in a match-up against Houston is difficult to turn down considering Texas’ recent form and Astros’ pitcher Kazmir’s challenges.

2. Houston has lost something

The Astros have just lost something. There’s a lot of inexperienced players and the baseball at this time of the season is a different kind of baseball. That could hardly have been more evident in the tight losses they suffered against the LA Angels in their last series. It’s a different challenge and they haven’t had the answers yet.

3. Like the pitching match-up for the Rangers

We like the pitching match between Gallardo and his record against Houston and Kazmir in this match-up. The Astros need a better match-up than that to win games later in the series.