The Texas Rangers take on the Los Angeles Angels in the final fixture of their four-match mini-series in Arlington tonight. And after a poor recent run of results, the Rangers need a win to consolidate their position at the top of the AL West division. Here we look ahead to the match and tell you who we believe will win, in our latest MLB betting picks.
This mini-series pitches first against third in the AL West division. And with the Houston Astros also in this section, it’s a pretty competitive section. The Astros started the season as the favorite to top the division. But after a strong showing from the Rangers, that isn’t now the certainty it was back at the end of March.
The Texas Rangers have had an impressive season so far. Yes, they’ve hit the buffers a touch lately. But if you’d offered Bruce Bochy this position at the start of the campaign, I’m sure he’d have snapped your hand off.
Their win over the Angles on Wednesday night was much needed. Not just because it now gives them the chance to end the four-match mini-series all square (they’re 2-1 down with one to play). But it puts an end to the Angels’ winning streak, and it keeps daylight between the Rangers and the Astros, and the Angels, at the top of the AL West.
The Rangers have had a tough run of late, and with that, the Houston Astros will sense an opportunity to close in at the top of the AL West.
In the latest betting to win the division, it’s the Astros who are the favorites with the top-rated MLB betting sites. The current World Series champions are -110, with the Texas Rangers at +130.
It is a three-way battle though, as the LA Angels are closing in on the two leaders. They are 8-2 in their last ten, and this has seen their odds to win the division cut to +700 in recent weeks.
In the betting to win the 2023 World Series, two of the AL West franchises feature prominently with the best MLB World Series betting sites. The Astros are +750 to win the title, with the Rangers at +1200.
The favorite with the best MLB betting sites is the Atlanta Braves at +500. They are followed by the Tampa Bay Rays at +550, with the LA Dodgers at +600. Then comes the Astros, who are followed by the New York Yankees and the Rangers on +1200. For the record, the LA Angels are down at +3500.
This is the final match of a four-match mini-series. At the moment, the Angels lead the series 2-1 and need to win tonight to seal an impressive road trip victory.
As for the Rangers, they looked down and out before last night’s 6-3 win. Before their much-needed victory, the Rangers had lost their last three, and five of their last six.
The betting for tonight’s match seems to be reflecting the closeness of this series. With home-field advantage, the Rangers go into the match at -135 on the moneyline. The Angels are +125 to win match four and clinch the mini-series win.
On the handicap line, the Angles are getting the +1.5 points head start. This means the Angels are favorites in this market at -174. The Rangers are +154 to win and cover the spread.
As for total points, that is set at 8.5. So far in the series, we’ve seen 15, 10, and 9 points scored. If you think it will be another high-scoring match, over 8.5 points is +102. Under 8.5 points is -122. This is quite surprising, given the previous three scores between the teams.
More betting can be found below on our MLB odds table. These odds are from the top-rated sportsbooks for online betting, who also happen to be experts in Baseball betting.
Texas Rangers vs Los Angeles Angels Betting | |||
---|---|---|---|
Rangers | -135 | -135 | -135 |
Angels | +125 | +125 | +125 |
Handicap Line | |||
Rangers (-1.5) | +154 | +154 | +154 |
Angles (+1.5) | -174 | -174 | -174 |
Marcus Semien and Corey Seager were the stars of the show for the Rangers in Wednesday night’s win over the Angels. With the game tied at 1-1 in the 7th innings, Semien scored a two-run homer to blow the match open. That was followed by a home run from Seager, which effectively put the game out of the reach of the Angels.
The return to form of Semien is welcome. His recent hitless run came after a career-best 25-game hitting streak. Maybe if he comes good again, the Rangers can get another winning streak going.
And that’s what we expect to happen. This turnaround in fortunes is what the Rangers have needed for a few matches now, and we think they will continue that form into the final fixture of the series and win it.
With the odds so close, we’re tempted to back the Rangers on the moneyline. But given the heavy scoring in this mini-series, we’re going for the Rangers to win and cover the spread for our betting pick.
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