Cubs vs Rangers MLB Baseball Lines & Expert Prediction with the Rangers favored on the Odds

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The Texas Rangers will raise the franchise’s first-ever World Series banner and players will be given their rings Thursday night ahead of the season opener at home against the Chicago Cubs with the Rangers favored on the MLB odds. All 30 teams are scheduled to play on Opening Day but rain could factor in a few. That won’t be an issue here.

MLB Expert Analysis Chicago Cubs vs Texas Rangers | MyBookie Sportsbook MLB Week 1 2024 Season

How to Bet Cubs at Rangers MLB Odds & TV Info

When: Thursday, 7:35 PM ET
Where: Globe Life Field
Probable pitchers (away/home): Justin Steele/Nathan Eovaldi
TV: ESPN
Stream/gameday audio: ESPN+
Opening MLB Lines: Rangers -115, Cubs -105 (total 8)

Why Bet on Chicago Cubs?

The Cubs went 83-79 (.512) in 2023, finishing second in the N.L. Central Division, 9.0 games behind Milwaukee. Chicago finished 1.0 game out of the third N.L. Wild Card spot. It marked the club’s first winning record in a full season since going 84-78 (.519) in 2019.

Craig Counsell was named the 56th manager of the Cubs on Nov. 6, 2023, replacing David Ross in a huge surprise. Counsell managed the rival Brewers from 2015-23, going 707-625 (.531) in 1,332 regular season games. During his tenure in Milwaukee, Counsell’s 707 wins and 1,332 games managed are both the most in Brewers franchise history. In parts of nine seasons with the Brewers, led the club to six winning seasons, five postseason appearances (2018-21, 2023) and three N.L. Central Division titles.

The Cubs’ big player move this offseason was re-signing All-Star outfielder/first baseman Cody Bellinger and I now believe Chicago is the team to beat in the NL Central. Last year, Bellinger hit .307/.356/.525 with 26 homers, 29 doubles, 20 stolen bases and 97 RBI. He led MLB with 75 RBIs from July 1 through the end of the season, was named the NL’s Player of the Month for July (.400 average) and ended with a .984 OPS against lefties.

Bellinger was also one of just four players in the Majors last season to hit at least .300 with 25-plus homers and 20-plus steals, joining NL MVP Ronald Acuña Jr., American League MVP Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman on that short list. Bellinger has the defensive flexibility to play both center field and first base for the Cubs, who have a need at both of those positions. The Cubs’ top prospect is center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong and the club swung a trade this offseason to acquire prospect Michael Busch as an option for first base. Busch has excellent power upside and should see most starts at first base against most right-handed pitchers.

All-Star lefty Justin Steele gets the Opening Day call. Steele declared himself ready to start Thursday’s season opener after he threw a bullpen session Monday without incident. Steele had left early in his final Cactus League start against the Giants due to a left knee contusion.

Steele had built up to 64 pitches and four innings in his prior Cactus League start March 12, so he should be capable of giving the Cubs at least 75 pitches and five innings in Thursday’s opener. Last season, he finished 16-5 with a 3.06 ERA and 176 strikeouts against 36 walks in 173 1/3 innings. Steele’s best stretch was a 16-start run from May 31-Sept. 9, when he went 10-1 with a 2.30 ERA, 102 strikeouts and 17 walks in 94 innings.

Righty Jameson Taillon (back), infielder Patrick Wisdom (back) and righty Caleb Kilian (right shoulder) are set to begin the season on the injured list.

Bet Cubs to Win
MLB Daily Lines

Why Bet on Texas Rangers?

The last time we saw the Rangers in a game that counted was Nov. 1, 2022, when Texas won at Arizona 5-0 to win the World Series in five games, the team’s first-ever title. Shortstop Corey Seager was runner-up for 2023 AL MVP but was named World Series MVP, the fourth player to win it twice in a career (also did for Dodgers a few years ago). Only Seager and Reggie Jackson — who won the 1973 honor with the A’s and the ’77 award with the Yankees — accomplished the feat with different teams.

Seager did have offseason surgery but is ready for Thursday as is third baseman Josh Jung. Seager had surgery for a sports hernia in late January and Jung strained his left calf during fielding exercises in mid-February at the beginning of spring training, before games had even started.

They combined for 56 homers last season even though they were limited to 122 and 119 games played, respectively, due to various injuries. Jung was fourth for AL Rookie of the Year. With Nathaniel Lowe starting the season on the injured list with an oblique strain, the Rangers still have not decided who will be the Opening Day first baseman.

This writer’s pick for AL Rookie of the Year is Texas outfielder Wyatt Langford, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft who will make his big-league debut on Thursday after winning a spot on the Opening Day roster as primarily the team’s DH for now but Langford will also see some time in the outfield. Langford absolutely crushed the ball in his short minor-league stint last year after being drafted and then again this spring as he ranks in the top five in Cactus and Grapefruit League play in eight different offensive categories, including totals bases, homers and RBI. The natural loft in his right-handed stroke and his massive 6-foot-1, 225-pound frame enable him to crush balls to all fields without swinging for the fences.

It’s pretty unprecedented for Langford to reach the Show so quickly as only two position players who came out of the Draft since it began in 1965 made an Opening Day roster with less experience in the minors and majors: Pete Incaviglia of the 1986 Rangers (zero games) and John Olerud of the 1990 Blue Jays (six).

The Rangers don’t even reach the 2024 World Series without right-handed pitcher Nathan Eovaldi, who gets the Opening Day start. Eovaldi earned his second career All-Star bid in 2023, posting a 3.63 ERA in 25 starts (144 innings) in 2023. He was one of the Rangers’ many postseason heroes after going 5-0 with a 2.95 ERA in his six postseason outings en route to his second career World Series title.

Eovaldi fired four shutout innings last Saturday in a Cactus League start against the Royals. Eovaldi scattered two hits, struck out three and only issued one walk. The 34-year-old finished spring training with a solid 2.63 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 13/6 K/BB ratio across 13 2/3 innings (four starts).

Bet Rangers to Win
MLB Daily Lines

Cubs vs Rangers Expert Prediction

Rangers 4, Cubs 3

MLB Conferences Winners

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