Texas Rangers vs Houston Astros Prediction: Will the Astros Offensive Struggles Continue?
Texas Rangers vs Houston Astros Prediction: Will the Astros Offensive Struggles Continue?
Texas Rangers vs Houston Astros Start Time and Where to Watch
- Date: April 26, 2022
- Game Time: 8:05 pm ET
- Where to Watch: MLB Extra Innings
Rangers vs Astros Total Runs Movement
Texas Rangers vs Houston Astros Prediction
The Astros have not been playing well to start the season and are not playing like the World Series contenders they have been over the past five to seven years. This could be due to the loss of Correa but has more so been due to the inconsistencies of multiple key contributors at once. Kyle Tucker has gotten off to a dreadful start this season as he is hitting just .169 through their first 16 games but their offensive struggles don't just stop there. Yordan Alvarez is hitting .167 and while he does have four home runs on the season, he has really struggled with making consistent solid contact.
Altuve is currently on the injured list and likely won't be in the lineup tonight, but he has really struggled to start the year as well. So who has been producing for this team to this point? The return of Alex Bregman has been huge for their lineup as he has been one of their top offensive players of the season. Bregman brings a professional at bat every time he comes to the plate and also does a really good job of getting on base with walks and doing a job when necessary as he has nine walks and only 10 strikeouts to this point. Michael Brantley currently leads their team in hitting with a .311 average and has even shown some pop as he has two homers and three doubles as well. Brantley is one of the best pure hitters in the game and prides himself on hitting consistent line drives, so he has been doing his part and it is up to the rest of the Astros lineup to step up
This season has been a bit backwards for the Astros so far as they usually don't have any trouble scoring runs with pitching as their main question mark but that has not been the case this season. The Astros pitching staff has done a pretty solid job to this point and really needs their lineup to step up. Tonight the Astros will start Jake Odorizzi who has really struggled to this point as he comes into this start with an 0-2 record and a 9.00 ERA but I think he is due for some positive regression tonight. Odorizzi did not even get out of the first inning in his last start which is concerning but I also expect him to be well-rested and much more focused in his start tonight. He has already faced the Angels twice this year and they seem to just have his number as they put up eight runs and five earned runs on him in just 4 2/3rds innings. Odorizzi also has solid career numbers against this Rangers lineup and I think he will pitch much better tonight.
The big question is will the Astro's offense show up? I think they will with a very favorable matchup against Taylor Hearn. Hearn really struggled in his last start as he gave up five runs in the first inning to the Mariners before even getting a single out. Oddly enough though, he did not give up a single run after that and kept his team in the game long enough for them to come back and win in one of the more improbable comebacks of the year. Hearn's main issue is that he does not throw a ton of strikes. He walks a lot of hitters and really struggles with his command and does not have the type of stuff to get away with that. Hearn has issued six walks in just 10 2/3rds innings and has also allowed 18 hits so there haven't been too many stress-free innings with Hearn on the hill.
This game also has the line dynamic that I always talk about as the Astros are still favored even with a starting pitcher with a significantly higher ERA than Hearn, and they are still favored even through all of their recent struggles. I think Odorizzi is going to pitch much better and I also expect the Astro's offense to wake up tonight. With that being said, I am rolling with Astros F5 ML at -108 and Astros Full Game ML at -109 for 1U each as I think the Astros bounce back tonight and even this series at 1 apiece.
Texas Rangers vs Houston Astros Picks
- 1 unit - Astros F5 ML at -108 (Bet $108 to win $100)
- 1 unit - Astros Full Game ML at -109 (Bet $109 to win $100)
Article Author
Joey has spent the last 6+ years betting on sports with a focus on basketball and baseball. Basketball is his main focus, and not many people know more about mid-major basketball than him. Whether you need advice on a Saturday night primetime game or a Tuesday night back-alley SWAC/MEAC game, Joey is your man.