<p>
The AL West-leading Astros and wild-card chasing Rangers begin a three-game in-state rivalry series Friday night in H-Town. How are we playing this game with our free MLB pick?
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<h2>
MLB Betting Odds<br />
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<p>
Friday's MLB betting odds opened Houston at around -225 over Texas, with an over/under of 8.5 runs. Early betting action then dropped the hook off that total.
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The Astros could also be found at many sportsbooks at around -115 giving the run and a half on the MLB run line.
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<h2>
Rangers vs. Astros Set-Up<br />
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<p>
Texas just got swept two games at home by Arizona, losing Wednesday's series finale 19-4. The Rangers then had Thursday off.
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<p>
Last weekend Texas split four games with Houston, winning the first two but losing the previous two. Just before that the Rangers lost two of three to Minnesota; just before that they lost two of three to the Angels; and just before that they lost two of three to Tampa Bay. So Texas is 0-4-1 over its last five series and 4-10 over its last 14 games.
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At 50-46 overall the Rangers trail the first-place Astros by ten games in the AL West, and they're 4.5 games behind Oakland and the Rays in the battle for the second American League wild-card spot.
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Houston, meanwhile, just split four games out in Anaheim, winning Thursday's series finale 6-2. Just before that, as mentioned above, the Astros split four games with Texas. So Houston is 4-4 over its last eight games.
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<p>
At 61-37 overall the Astros lead the AL West by 5.5 games over the second-place A's, and they trail the Yankees by just 2.5 games in the battle for the best record in the American League.
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Houston leads the season series with the Rangers eight games to six.
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<h2>
Friday's Starting Arms<br />
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Verlander, by our strict standards, is 13/20 on quality starts this season but recorded only one for his last three. Last Sunday, he limited this Texas team to two runs and four hits through six innings of a 12-4 Houston victory. But, over his two starts previous to that he gave up eight runs and 12 hits, including five dingers, through 12 innings.
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The Astros are 14-6 with Verlander this season and 3-1 over his last four starts, thanks in part to some good run support.
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Over four starts already this season against the Rangers Verlander allowed seven runs and 14 hits through 24 innings. Houston won three of those four games.
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Lefty Minor is 10/19 on quality starts this year but 0 for his last two. Last Saturday he gave up four runs on seven hits through five innings of a 7-6 Texas loss to these Astros. And his previous time out he gave up three runs on two hits and four walks through 4 1/3 innings against the Angels.
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The Rangers are 10-9 with Minor this year but 0-2 his last two starts.
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Over three starts already this year against Houston Minor allowed seven runs and 19 hits through 17 innings. Texas lost two of those three games.
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<h2>
Friday's Batting Splits<br />
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Texas is batting .260/.335/.455 against right-handed pitching this season.
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Houston is batting .286/.371/.511 against left-handed pitching this season, which ranks this lineup No. 1 in the Majors in this split.
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<h2>
The Bullpens<br />
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The Rangers bullpen owns a 4.93 ERA this season and a 1.48 WHIP while allowing an .813 OPS. But some of those numbers must be attributed to the ballpark this unit operates in half the time.
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The Astros pen owns a 3.82 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP while allowing a .692 OPS. Numbers like those help this unit rank among the top three bullpens in Baseball.
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<h2>
Totals Report<br />
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Totals are split 47-47 in Rangers games this season.
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Unders are 50-43 in Astros games this season.
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Unders are 23-20 in games played at Minute Maid Park this season.
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Overs are 8-6 in Rangers-Astros games this season.
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Unders are a combined 25-13 with Verlander and Minor this season.
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<p><section></p>
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<span style="font-size:16px;"><b><span style="color:#008000;">Get more details:</span></b> <a class="advblue" href="https://www.sportsbettingstats.com/mlb/matchup/1080478">Rangers at Astros MLB Match-up Stats</a> </span>
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</ul>
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