Heading into game two of this AL West matchup, the Rangers (90-72, 50-31 home) will send Andrew Heaney to the mound against the Astros (90-72, 51-30 away) and José Urquidy. Check out my pick for today’s Houston Astros vs. Texas Rangers game in Arlington.

HOUSTON ASTROS VS TEXAS RANGERS BETTING PICK

The Pick: Texas Rangers -120

This game will be played at Globe Life Field at 8:03 ET on Thursday, October 19th.

WHY BET THE TEXAS RANGERS:

  • In their previous five games, the Rangers have a record of 4-1.
  • The Rangers have gone 7-3 in their ten games at home.
  • Andrew Heaney has done a good job at avoiding the long-ball of late, having not given up a home-run in each of his past five starts.

HOUSTON ASTROS LOOK TO CONTINUE WINNING WAYS ON THE ROAD

Heading into this divisional matchup vs. the Rangers, the Astros have an overall record of 90-72. This mark includes going 32-20 against divisional foes. Currently, they are 2nd in the AL West. Houston’s overall series record sits at 27-21-5.

José Urquidy will take the mound for the Astros with a 3-3 record in 17 appearances this season. His ERA is 5.29, K/9 6.43, FIP 5.38 and OBP .321.

José Urquidy earned a victory in his latest outing, as the Astros defeated the Twins 3-2. The right-hander allowed two runs and three hits over five innings of work.

Across their last five games, the Astros’ offense is 10th in batting average, leading to an average of 4.2 runs per contest in that span. Overall, they are the 5th ranked scoring offense and posted a season-long OPS of .768 on 222 (6th). On average, they have struckout 7 times per game compard to 3.3 walks.

Yordan Alvarez has been a force to be reckoned with this season, boasting a .293 batting average and slugging .583. Over the past ten games, he has been Houston’s leader in hits, batting an impressive .419.

WILL THE TEXAS RANGERS TAKE CARE OF BUSINESS AT HOME?

Texas’ overall record currently stands at 90-72, placing them 1st in the AL West. The Rangers will look to extend their current series winning streak to 55 and have an overall series record of 34-18-2. At home, Texas is 50-31 and 40-41 on the road.

Andrew Heaney will take the mound for the Rangers, boasting a 10-6 record in 35 appearances. His ERA is 4.15, and he has struck out 9.22 batters per nine innings. His FIP is 4.66, while his OBP sits at .326.

Andrew Heaney’s most recent outing against the Orioles saw him surrender one run on two hits over 3 2/3 innings. Although he didn’t factor into the decision, Heaney’s effort was instrumental in the Rangers’ 3-2 victory.

Having gone deep 5 times in their last five games, the Rangers are 7th in that span. At 5.4 runs per game, Texas is 3rd in the league. This figure has come on a team batting average of .263 while hitting a total of 233 home runs (3rd).

Josh Jung has been a key offensive contributor for the Texas Rangers this season, boasting a .266 batting average and .467 slugging percentage. In the team’s last ten games, Jung has been on fire at the plate, leading Texas with hits and hitting an impressive .347.