Houston Astros vs Texas Rangers Prediction MLB Picks 8/6/24

The Houston Astros and the Texas Rangers meet Tuesday in MLB action from Globe Life Field. Here’s a Houston Astros vs Texas Rangers prediction. This will be the second installment in a three-game series. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Astros vs Rangers Pick. We will examine:

The Texas Rangers recent form and player performance

The Houston Astros recent form and player performance

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Texas Rangers

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Houston Astros

Recent betting trends in games played between the Rangers and Astros

A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the Rangers vs Astros game

Houston Astros Betting Preview

In their weekend series the Astros took on the Tampa Bay Rays. Houston won 3-2 in the Friday game but dropped the next pair 6-1 and 1-0. In the Monday opener versus the Rangers, the Astros took a tough walk-off loss 4-3. Starter Hunter Brown went 6.0 innings with one earned run.

In the starter role for the Astros on Tuesday it’ll be Framber Valdez. This year Valdez is 10-5 with a 3.56 ERA in 19 starts. Valdez is 63-39 with a 3.42 ERA in 148 career games (126 starts).

Texas Rangers Betting Preview

Over on the Rangers’ side, they played the Boston Red Sox in their weekend set. Texas managed a 7-4 win in the Saturday matchup but otherwise dropped the series with losses 11-6 and 7-2. On Monday the Rangers gave up a run in the top of the 10th but eventually won it in dramatic fashion. Andrew Heaney put up 6.0 innings with one earned in the starter role.

As starter for Tuesday Texas will go with Tyler Mahle in his 2024 season debut. In his career Mahle is 33-41 with a 4.30 ERA in 123 games (122 starts).

Total Runs Facts

• Nine of the Rangers’ last 10 games have gone OVER the total runs line.
• Eight of the Astros’ last nine games after going to extra innings have gone UNDER the total runs line.
• The ‘Inning 1 UNDER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in each of the Astros’ last three games against American League opponents.
• The ‘Inning 1 UNDER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in each of the Rangers’ last three night games against AL West opponents.

Texas Rangers Player Prop Facts

• Corey Seager has hit at least one home run in three of the Rangers’ last four games against AL opponents.
• Adolis Garcia has recorded at least one RBI in five of the Rangers’ last six games at Globe Life Field against AL West opponents that held a winning record.
• Adolis Garcia has scored at least one run in seven of the Rangers’ last eight games at Globe Life Field against AL West opponents that held a winning record.
• Adolis Garcia has recorded a Single in seven of the Rangers’ last eight games against the Astros at Globe Life Field.
• Adolis Garcia has recorded at least one total base in each of the Rangers’ last eight games against the Astros at Globe Life Field.
• Tyler Mahle has recorded four or more strikeouts in 14 of his 15 previous home appearances against AL opponents.
• Corey Seager has recorded at least one hit in each of the Rangers’ last nine games against AL opponents.

Houston Astros Player Prop Facts

• Jake Meyers has hit a home run in two of his last three appearances with the Astros as road favorites against the Rangers.
• Yordan Alvarez has recorded a Double in four of the Astros’ last five road games against AL West opponents.
• Jeremy Pena has recorded an RBI in six of the Astros’ last seven games as road favorites.
• Framber Valdez has recorded a win in each of his last five appearances with the Astros as favorites.
• Jose Altuve has scored at least one run in each of his last 10 appearances at Globe Life Field against AL opponents that held a losing record.
• Framber Valdez has recorded six or more strikeouts in each of his last four appearances.
• Jeremy Pena has recorded at least one Single in each of the Astros’ last seven games as road favorites against AL West opponents.
• Kyle Tucker has recorded at least one hit in each of his last 11 appearances at Globe Life Field against AL West opponents that held a losing record.
• Kyle Tucker has recorded at least one total base in each of his last 11 appearances at Globe Life Field against opponents that held a losing record.

Matchup/League Facts

• The Texas Rangers rank 7th in the league for strikeouts against this season (870).
• The Texas Rangers rank 24th in the league for walks allowed this season (381).
• The Houston Astros rank 3rd in the league for strikeouts this season (1008).
• The Houston Astros rank 27th in the league for walks this season (300).

Houston Astros vs Texas Rangers Prediction

I’ll probably just stick with the Astros. Valdez does need a bit of a bounce-back start, though. In his last outing Valdez put up four earned on six hits in 6.0 innings but still got the win over Pittsburgh. He’d had just two earned in 12.0 previous frames. It’ll be interesting to see what Mahle can do on the other side as well. 

On Monday the Astros gave up a walk-off two-run homer to Josh Smith, capping a rough offensive game for both sides. There were only nine combined hits (four for the Astros) but Houston was still in a position to win late in the game. That makes three or fewer runs in four straight games for the Astros though—not to mention a three-game losing streak. Still, if Valdez performs and the bats get going, Houston should have a decent shot Tuesday.