MLB Pick: Tampa Bay Rays at Texas Rangers

The Tampa Bay Rays are in Texas today for the third game of their four game series with the Rangers. So far they have split the first two games of the series with the Rays winning game one and the Rangers taking game two. The Rays have won 7 of the last 11 meetings with the Rangers including 3 of the last 4 meetings in Texas.

Head to Head Trends

Under is 5-0-1 in the last 6 meetings in Texas.
Rays are 7-4 in the last 11 meetings.

Texas Rangers (+128)

The Texas Rangers are 5th in the American League West 26 games back of the 1st place Oakland Athletics. The Rangers are currently in a fierce battle with the Colorado Rockies for last place in baseball. The Rockies have one more loss then the Rangers with 73 but the Rangers are giving it all they got in the race for the bottom losing 36 of their last 47 games so they’ll be tuff to beat. The Rangers biggest problem this season has been their pitching or actually lack of pitching. The Rangers pitching staff in dead last in the American League allowing 5.05 runs per game. Their hitting is a little better averaging 4.03 runs per game but to be fair the Rangers have had a lot of injury problems this season so I guess we can give them a bit of a break. On the hill for the Rangers today is Miles Mikolas who is 1-4 with a 6.57 ERA in 7 starts this season.

Texas Rangers Trends

Rangers are 1-6 in Mikolas’ last 7 starts.
Rangers are 11-36 in their last 47 overall.
Rangers are 5-21 in their last 26 games as a home underdog.

Tampa Bay Rays (-138)

The Tampa Bay Rays are 4th in the American League East 10.5 games back of the 1st place Baltimore Orioles. The Rays have been playing some solid ball winning 35 of their last 54 games since that rough stretch back in June that saw them lose 14 of 15 games. The Rays are one of the lower scoring teams in the American league averaging just 3.92 runs per game but their pitching staff has really come around recently and now have the Rays runs allowed down to 3.85 runs per game. Starting for the Rays is Chris Archer who is 7-6 with a 3.33 ERA on the season.

Tampa Bay Rays Trends

Rays are 4-0 in Archers last 4 road starts.
Rays are 25-12 in their last 37 overall.
Rays are 20-7 in their last 27 road games.

Conclusion

I like the Rays to bounce back and beat the Rangers today. The Rangers suck in general and that’s good enough to bet against them most days but today they also have a starter who has really struggled this season so I don’t have a lot of hope for them today.

Free Pick: Tampa Bay Rays -138