Two teams off to great starts to this season hook up when the Orioles and Rangers begin a three-game weekend series at Camden Yards Friday night. Rookie right-hander Grayson Rodriguez goes for the O’s here against veteran Jon Gray for Texas.

Which way are we going with our free baseball betting pick?

MLB Betting Odds

Friday’s baseball betting market opened Baltimore at around -130 over Texas, with an over/under of 8.5 runs. Early betting action then bumped the Orioles to -135.

Rangers-Orioles Betting Preview

Texas just took two of three games at Pittsburgh, winning Wednesday’s series rubber match 3-2. The Rangers then had Thursday off.

Just before that, Texas swept three games from Colorado. So the Rangers are 2-0 over their last two series and 5-1 over their last six games.

At 31-18 overall, Texas leads the AL West by three games over second-place Houston.

Baltimore, meanwhile, just took two of three games from the Yankees in New York, winning Thursday’s rubber match 3-1. Just before that, the Orioles swept three games at Toronto, and just before that, they took two of the last three games of a series with the Angels.

Going back a bit further, Baltimore is 4-0-1 over its last five series and 11-4 over its last 15 games.

At 33-17 overall, the Orioles own the second-best record in Baseball.

This series is the second meeting between these teams this season. In April, Baltimore took two of three games from the Rangers down in Arlington.

Friday’s Pitching Match-Up

Rodriguez is 0/9 on quality starts this season, yet to pitch a full six innings in any outing. Last Saturday, he held the Blue Jays to two runs and four hits through five innings, with one walk against six strikeouts, in a 6-5 Baltimore victory. But over his three starts previous to that, he got touched for 16 runs and seven home runs through only 12 2/3 innings.

The Orioles are 7-2 with Rodriguez this season, although that’s at least a couple of wins better than they should be, based on his performances.

In his only career start against Texas in April, Rodriguez allowed two runs and four hits through five frames of a 5-2 Baltimore defeat.

Gray is 3/9 on quality starts this year and two for his last three. Last Saturday, he held Colorado to one run and five hits through five innings of an 11-5 Texas win.
And over his last three starts, he’s allowed just two runs and 12 hits through 20 innings, with four walks against 19 whiffs.

The Rangers are 5-4 with Gray this year, 4-0 his last four times out.

Over his last two starts against the Orioles, one earlier this season and one last season, Gray allowed five earned runs and eight hits through 7 2/3 innings. Texas lost both of those games.

Splits With the Sticks

Texas is batting .262 against right-handed pitching this season, with a .327 team OBP and a .448 team slugging percentage. The Rangers have also scored at least five runs seven times over their last ten games.

Baltimore is slashing .249/.322/.415 against right-handed pitching. The Orioles have also scored at least five runs eight times over their last ten games.

The Bullpens

The Baltimore bullpen owns a 3.00 ERA this season, which ranks No. 2 in Baseball, along with a 1.22 WHIP and a 2.96 K/BB ratio.

The Texas pen owns a 4.74 ERA, a 1.30 WHIP, and a 2.38 K/BB ratio.

MLB Betting Trends

Texas is 15-10 on the road this season and 21-13 against right-handed starters.

Baltimore is 15-8 at home and 19-11 against right-handed starters.

Totals Report

• The overs are 29-18 in Rangers games this season.
• The overs are 26-21 in the Orioles games in 2023.
• The unders are 12-9 at Camden Yards this season.