Houston Astros vs. Texas Rangers Picks & Predictions 4/27/22

Houston Astros (8-9) vs. Texas Rangers (6-11)

When: 8:05 p.m., Wednesday, April 27

Where: Globe Life Field, Arlington, Texas

Moneyline: HOU -130/TEX +110

Runline: Astros -1.5/Rangers +1.5

Total: 8.5
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Starting Pitchers: Cristian Javier (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.72 WHP vs. Glenn Otto (1-0, 1.80 ERA, 0.60 WHIP)

Taking It Deep

The biggest problem for the Rangers has been keeping the baseball in the park, especially when the ball gets beyond their starters and to their bullpen. Globe Life Field was built to be a pitcher-friendly ballpark, but there’s only so much that a park can do when the pitchers aren’t good enough to get people out.

Texas certainly hasn’t come close to getting people out this season, as the Rangers have allowed 26 long balls through 17 games, dead last in the majors. It’s bad enough that the Rangers allow batters to hit .250 overall, but when one out of every five hits allowed is a home run, you’re going to see some struggles in the standings.

The Rangers have done a bit better at keeping the ball in the park as of late, as they’ve managed to win four of six by holding the opposition to three runs or less, but success is only going to happen if Texas manages to keep the ball from leaving the yard. If the Rangers keep allowing teams to make quality content against them, they’ll stay anchored to the bottom of the AL West.

Texas Troubles

Coming home was supposed to result in a much better situation for Houston, but it hasn’t worked out that way so far, as the Astros lost both series at home to the Angels and Blue Jays and have now taken five defeats in their past seven games. Like most teams in 2022, the Astros are dealing with occasional power outages from their lineup and have really struggled when they find that they’re not putting big numbers on the scoreboard.

Out of their past ten games, the Astros have won four of them, and all four have seen them score at least four runs. In the other six games of their past 10, the Astros managed to score at least four runs in the process. This is not a team that’s going to wow anyone with its lineup, especially when they’ve got a team batting average of just .208. If Houston is going to get some wins strung together, the Astros have to get more consistency going at the plate. So far, the Astros have shown no signs of winning with anything but pitching and defense, as they’ve scored just 11 runs in six losses over the course of the last ten games. Houston has to string a few hits together and drive in runs.

Finishing the Job

If nothing else, the Astros have a large advantage because they have done so well at closing out games, and having an ace set of relievers means that you can essentially turn to them to finish the job as long as you can get six decent innings out of their starter. We’ve discussed Texas’ awful ERA against everybody, as the Rangers as a whole ranked dead last, but Houston ranks in the top 10 at preventing runs and has at least kept the Astros in games even when the offense isn’t getting the job done. In the win over Texas in the series opener, the Astros game up one run in the second inning and then never again let the Rangers cross the plate in a 5-1 Houston victory.

With Cristian Javier heading to the mound, the Astros will ask the bullpen to do a little more than usual, as Javier likely only goes for three to four innings before coming out. That’s not a big problem as far as Houston is concerned: the Astros actually want to get deep into their bullpen.

Betting Trends

• The Astros are 2-5 in their past seven overall.
• The Astros are 1-4 in their past five against the AL West.
• The Rangers are 7-19 in their past 26 Wednesday games.
• The Rangers are 4-1 in their past five games against the AL West.
• The under is 5-1 in the Astros’ past six games overall.
• The under is 6-2 in the Astros’ past nine road games.
• The under is 4-0 in the Rangers’ past four games overall.
• The under is 4-1 in the Rangers’ past five gams as the underdog.
• The Astros have won 41 of the past 61 meetings between the teams.
• The over is 3-1-2 in the teams’ past six meetings in Arlington.

More Picks: Read Joe’s take on the Bulls vs. Bucks >>> Game 5 Pick ATS

Weather Report

This will be a game-time decision as to whether the roof will be open or closed. With temperatures dipping to the 60s, this could be a tight spot for the home team to decide if they want to play the game out or not.

Dan’s Pick

The Rangers are struggling to get much of anything from their pitchers, which has me leaning in Houston’s direction. I know the Astros aren’t getting the job done either right now, but at least their hitters should have an easier time against lesser foes, whereas the Rangers are a weak team going nowhere.

I don’t see Houston losing another series, especially against their biggest rival. Give me the Astros. Bet your Astros vs. Rangers pick and ALL your MLB bets this week for FREE by taking advantage of a 100% real cash bonus on your first deposit of $100 to $500 at Betnow Sportsbook! (Must use bonus code PREDICTEM to get the free bonus dollars credited!)