Rangers vs Astros Odds & Predictions for Sunday Night Baseball (April 16)
By John Perrotto in MLB Baseball
Published:
- The Astros are -195 home favorites over the Rangers on Sunday Night Baseball
- Andrew Heaney (1-1, 8.22) will pitch for the Rangers against the Astros’ Framber Valdez (1-1, 1.89) in a matchup of lefties
- A look at the Rangers vs Astros odds and matchup can be found below with a prediction
The Houston Astros will host the Texas Rangers at 7:08 ET on Sunday Night Baseball in the rubber game of a three-game series at Minute Maid Part.
The Astros (7-8, 4-5 home) beat the Rangers 8-2 on Saturday night for their fourth win in the last six games. Texas (8-6, 2-3 road) had won four of its previous five games.
The game will be televised by ESPN.
Rangers vs Astros Odds
| Team | Moneyline | Runline | Over/Under |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas Rangers | +165 | +1.5 (-130) | Over 7.5 (-110) |
| Houston Astros | -195 | -1.5 (+110) | Under 7.5 (-110) |
The Houston Astros are -195 favorites on the moneyline over the Texas Rangers on Sunday Night Baseball in the MLB odds, giving them an implied win probability of 66.1%. The Astros are the favorites in the World Series championship odds at +600 while the Rangers are listed at +4500.
Odds as of April 15th at DraftKings Sportsbook.
Rangers vs Astros Probable Pitchers
Andrew Heaney (1-1, 8.22) will start for the Rangers against fellow left-hander Framber Valdez (1-1, 1.89). Both will be pitching on five days of rest.
Heaney vs Valdez
| 1-1 | Record | 1-1 |
| 8.22 | ERA | 1.89 |
| 4.16 | xERA | 3.74 |
| 1.70 | WHIP | 1.21 |
| 3.00 | SO/W | 3.00 |
Heaney was outstanding in his last start, tying an American League record with nine strikeouts in a row as he beat the Kansas City Royals on Monday at home for his first win of the season. Signed as a free agent over the winter, Heaney allowed one unearned run and two hits in five innings with 10 strikeouts and two walks.
Heaney is 3-4 in his career versus the Astros with a 3.54 ERA in 11 starts.
In away games, Heaney has a 4.95 career ERA, compared to 4.30 in home games. He pitches much worse at night (4.88) than in day games (3.82).
Andrew Heaney strikes out 9 consecutive batters, tying the American League record! 👏
(via @MLB)pic.twitter.com/Jk6Dzw2pw4
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 11, 2023
Valdez is also coming off his first win of 2023 as he beat the Pirates on Monday night in Pittsburgh with five uneven innings. Hye gave up three runs (two earned) on seven hits while striking out five and walking two.
He will be making his 14th career appearance and 11th start against the Rangers. Valdez, who is listed at +2000 in the AL Cy Young odds, has a 6-3 record and 2.55 ERA against the cross-state rivals.
Valdez’s career home ERA (3.39) is close to his road mark (3.26). However, there is a significant split in his home (3.55) and road (2.90) ERAs.
Batting Average vs Starting Pitchers
| Rangers Batters | Batting Average vs Framber Valdez |
|---|---|
| Ezequiel Duran | .333 |
| Leody Tavares | .313 |
| Adolis Garcia | .286 |
| Bubba Thompson | .250 |
| Marcus Semien | .217 |
| Nathaniel Lowe | .200 |
| Jonah Heim | .111 |
| Robbie Grossman | .100 |
| Sandy Leon | .000 |
| Astros Batters | Batting Average vs Andrew Heaney |
| Mauricio Dubon | .400 |
| Jose Abreu | .364 |
| Alex Bregman | .280 |
| Yordan Alvarez | .273 |
| Kyle Tucker | .200 |
| Martin Maldonado | .182 |
| Chas McCormick | .000 |
Rangers utility player Ezequiel Duran is 3 for 9 with a double and home run off Valdez. However, left fielder Robbie Grossman is 1 for 10 (.100).
Astros first baseman Jose Abreu has four hits in 11 at-bats (.364) against Heaney and all have been homers. Martin Maldonado is just a .182 hitter (2 for 11) against Heaney and has struck out five times.
Rangers vs Astros Betting Trends
Yordan Alvarez drove in three runs with a two-RBI double and bases-loaded walk to lead the Astros over the Rangers on Saturday night. Jeremy Pena and Mauricio Dubon each had two hits with Pena hitting a two-run double.
Alvarez has AL MVP odds of +1200.
Alvarez ties the game. pic.twitter.com/SZvmC7BgTG
— Houston Astros (@astros) April 16, 2023
Astros center fielder Chas McCormick (blurred vision) is expected to miss his second straight game.
The Rangers got two hits from Travis Jankowski.
Rangers vs Astros Last 10 Games
| Date | Home Team | Away Team | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4/15/23 | Astros | Rangers | HOU, 8-2 |
| 4/14/23 | Astros | Rangers | TEX, 6-2 |
| 9/7/22 | Astros | Rangers | HOU, 4-3 |
| 9/6/22 | Astros | Rangers | TEX, 4-3 |
| 9/5/22 | Astros | Rangers | HOU, 1-0 |
| 8/31/22 | Rangers | Astros | HOU, 5-3 |
| 8/30/22 | Rangers | Astros | HOU, 4-2 |
| 8/11/22 | Astros | Rangers | HOU, 7-3 |
| 8/10/22 | Astros | Rangers | TEX, 8-4 |
| 8/9/22 | Astros | Rangers | HOU, 7-5 |
The Astros have a whopping 71-36 lead in the series since the start of the 2017 season.
Rangers vs Astros Prediction
Heaney was dominant at times in his last outing, but the Astros’ lineup is much more fearsome than that of the Royals.
Pick: Astros -195 ML
Season Record: 9-3 (+5.0 units) ML
Sports Writer
John Perrotto has been covering and writing about sports for various outlets for over 40 years. His work has appeared in the likes of USA TODAY, ESPN.com, SI.com, Forbes.com, The Associated Press, Baseball Digest, and more. John is based out of Beaver Falls, PA.
