We have said before that there are no prizes for landing at the top of a division at the midway point of the MLB season. Sure, it’s nice to have a good lead on the pack in your division, but as we have seen in the past, leading the division or sitting in a playoff spot in June is no guarantee that a team will still be sitting there when the regular season draws to a close. While being on top would be the ideal place for any team to be, simply being in the playoff picture at this point of the season is still something that should be viewed as a definite positive.
The opportunity to make some deadline moves and strengthen the squad is going to be very tempting for a lot of those teams, which is why we so often see big moved in the second half. The Texas Rangers are one of the teams that are still very much in the playoff hunt, so they will be looking to keep their push going with a good series versus the Detroit Tigers. The Rangers took the opener and are in as a 1 ½ run favorite for this one, with the run total set at 9.
Rangers vs Tigers MLB Odds, Game Info & Prediction
- When: Wednesday, June 26 at 7:10 PM EST
- Where: Comerica Park, Detroit
- Starting Pitchers: Minor vs. Boyd
- TV: MLB Extra Innings
- Radio: SiriusXM
- Live Stream: MLB.tv
- MLB Odds: Texas Rangers -115 (Total 8.5)
Why bet on the Texas Rangers?
Trying to play catch-up is never a good situation to be in, but the Texas Rangers have gone about the task of doing so with some real gusto. The Houston Astros have been dominant in the West this season, but they are on a poor run of form at the moment.
The Rangers have taken advantage of those issues by taking 7 of their last 10 games to close the gap at the top of the AL West to 6 ½ games. They are now sitting at 43-36 on the season, which is good enough to have them tied for the final Wild Card spot in the AL. If the Rangers are to maintain that spot, though, they need to be better than 15-21 on the road. They will have Mike Minor (7-4, 2.52 ERA) on the mound for this one.
Team Stats
Offense- Runs: 2.70
- Hits: 4.29
- Walks: 1.75
- Strike Outs: 4.75
Defense
- Runs: 2.50
- Hits: 4.53
- Walks: 1.73
- Strike Outs: 4.04
Why bet on the Detroit Tigers?
It has been an absolutely disastrous season for the Tigers to this point, as they are now sitting at just 26-48 SU, which has them sitting 23 games back of the lead in the NL Central. This is a team that is struggling to score, while also bleeding runs at an alarming rate, which helps explain their brutal -142 run differential.
With the 5-3 loss to the Rangers in the opening game of this series, the Tigers have now lost 5 straight games and are 1-9 in their last 10 outings. Home field has not been any type of advantage for the Tigers, who are 11-25 SU and 10-26 ATS in their own ballpark. It will be Matthew Boyd (5-5, 3.61 ERA) who starts for the Tigers.
Team Stats
Offense- Runs: 1.57
- Hits: 3.48
- Walks: 1.21
- Strike Outs: 4.39
Defense
- Runs: 2.42
- Hits: 4.15
- Walks: 1.46
- Strike Outs: 3.57
Rangers vs Tigers MLB Betting Trends
- Rangers are 11-3 SU in their last 14 games when playing on the road against Detroit
- The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Texas’ last 6 games this season
- Rangers are 0-5 SU in their last 5 games at home
- The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Detroit’s last 6 games played on a Wednesday
- Rangers are 28-25 against the money line in night games this season
- Tigers are 82-152 against the money line in night games over the last 3 seasons
- Minor is 0-2 when starting against Detroit with an ERA of 7.24 and a WHIP of 1.097
- Boyd is 1-5 when starting against Texas with an ERA of 6.54 and a WHIP of 1.484
Expert Pick & Final Score Prediction for Rangers vs Tigers
If there is one major weakness for the Rangers, it is their play away from home. That said, they should still be able to come away with another win versus the Tigers.
Score: Texas Rangers 6 – Detroit Tigers 2
