Texas Rangers vs Baltimore Orioles Prediction and Betting Odds August 1
Texas Rangers vs Baltimore Orioles Betting Preview
WagerTalk MLB analyst Brian Ochsner offers his analysis of Monday night’s Texas Rangers vs Baltimore Orioles Prediction and Betting Odds August 1 clash at Globe Life Field. The Orioles swept the Rangers the last time these two met this season.
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| Monday, August 1 | MLB Betting Notes, Courtesy of Caesars |
|---|---|
| Moneyline: | Texas Rangers -170 vs Baltimore Orioles +143 |
| Runline: | Rangers -1.5 (+125) / Orioles +1.5 (-145) |
| Total: | 7.5 Runs (Over -120 / Under +100) |
| Game Time: | 8:05pm ET / 5:05pm PT |
| Where: | Globe Life Field in Arlington, TX |
| Weather: | Retractable Roof |
Texas Rangers vs Baltimore Orioles Analysis
The Baltimore Orioles travel to Globe Life Field to take on the Texas Rangers in the first of a three game series. with right-handers Spenser Watkins and Jon Gray getting the starts.
The O’s dropped two of three from the Reds in Cincinnati, while the Rangers took three of four from the Angels in southern California. First pitch is scheduled for 8:05 PM EDT / 5:05 PM PDT.
Orioles Own Texas This Season
Baltimore is a surprising 51-51 and in the running for one of the three wild card berths. Texas is 46-55, 20 games behind Houston in the AL West, but only 5.0 games behind the White Sox for the final AL wild card spot.
Starter Spenser Watkins has split time this year between the Orioles and the AAA club in Norfolk, VA, and his major league numbers are what I’d call fair-to-middlin’.
In 13 starts and 58 innings, he’s accrued a 4.03 ERA, a 1.41 WHIP with 35 strikeouts – not as many as you’d like to see for a starting pitcher. He’s also given up 20 walks and six home runs on the season
The O’s pitching and some timely hitting have improved their results over the last couple of months. Their bullpen is one of the best in baseball with a fourth lowest ERA, and their team staff ERA has gone up to 16th best.
Their offensive stats aren’t great, as they’re 24th with a .686 OPS and a team batting average of .234. But they’ve quietly gotten better and put themselves in the hunt to play in the postseason.
Gray Panning Out For Rangers
After a rough April and May, Jon Gray has settled into pitching in Texas. In 6 starts in June, he posted a 2.39 ERA and 0.78 WHIP, and in five July starts put up a 2.97 ERA and 1.04 WHIP.
Out of his last 11 starts, Gray has given up four earned runs or more twice – one of them was in his last start in Seattle on July 27, where he gave up five hits, four earned runs, four walks and one home run in 6.1 innings of work.
In 18 starts and 102.0 innings he’s posted a 7-5 record, a 3.62 ERA with a 1.14 WHIP and 113 strikeouts – just over one K per inning. It looks like the veteran right-hander enjoys pitching away from Coors Field, and the Rangers’ bet on him in free agency has paid off.
As I’ve mentioned before, the Rangers aren’t a consistent hitting team, but they can hit plenty of home runs as they’re 9th best in MLB with 126. Although Watkins has limited long balls against him, I think Texas could get at least one home run tonight off the Orioles’ starter.
Texas Rangers vs Baltimore Orioles Prediction
Both teams have better pitching than hitting, and the Rangers have the better starter in Gray over Watkins.
Baltimore has the edge in their bullpen over Texas, and they could hold the Rangers offense in check to have a chance to win later in the game. That’s why I like the Rangers on the 1st 5 innings run line.
Prediction: Texas 1st 5 Innings Run Line (-0.5)
First Pitch | MLB Predictions for Monday, August 1
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WagerTalk’s Live Odds Screen features up-to-the-minute lines from a variety of offshore and domestic sports books. Track the MLB moneylines, run lines and betting percentages for all of Monday’s baseball games, including this Texas Rangers vs Baltimore Orioles showdown, from your desktop or phone.
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Meet the Author
Brian Ochsner graduated from Kansas State University with degrees in Accounting and Agribusiness. He’s a life-long baseball fan and “numbers guy” who tolerates the Colorado Rockies (bad ownership), and is a Denver Broncos and Kansas State Wildcats fan. Along with his interest in the sports wagering industry, he enjoys eating good BBQ, reading books on marketing, finance and economics, and playing Texas Hold ‘Em poker.
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