Odds and Bets: Rangers and Astros Get Ready for Texas Showdown

Texas Rangers vs Houston Astros

Things are bigger in Texas, and rarely do they get any bigger than an AL West showdown between Texas Rangers and Houston Astros squads vying for first place. Monday night is the beginning of a three-game set in Houston. The Arlington-based visitors are 59-41 and in first place, with Houston trailing by three games at 56-44.

Neither club is sending a bonified ace to the mound on Monday, but both starters have good ERAs. The Rangers put their faith in Jon Gray (6-5, 3.31 ERA) and the Astros hand the ball to Brandon Bielak (5-5, 3.46). The Astros haven’t been great at home this season, going only 25-22. They’re also 5-3 in their last eight. Good, not great. The Rangers impressively swept the Tampa Bay Rays last week before going 1-2 versus the Dodgers.  This is a humungous series for both clubs, but Texas has been slightly better all season long.

Best Bet: Texas Rangers on the runline

Toronto Blue Jays vs Los Angeles Dodgers

It’s been the same story all season long for the Blue Jays. They’ll have a terrific series (last weekend at home to the Diamondbacks) and just when everyone things the problems are solved, the team goes 2-4 in their subsequent six contests. Multiple blown leads – again – resulted in Toronto coming up short against the Mariners over the weekend – again. They went 1-2 in the series. The Dodgers had a tough series away to the Rangers and took two of three. L.A. is 57-41 and in first place in the NL West.

Jose Berrios (8-7, 3.39 ERA) will defend Torontonian honour against Michael Grove (2-2, 6.40 ERA). Other than Danny Jansen, the Jays are coming into this series relatively healthy. The same cannot be said of the Dodgers, although it hasn’t prevented them from winning a lot lately. The time is now for Toronto. The playoff push must start immediately. Either this team finds the groove that led to relative success in two of the past three seasons or 2023 is simply an off-year.

Best Bet: Blue Jays on the moneyline

 Connecticut Sun vs Dallas Wings (Tuesday)

Tuesday night features an important match in the WNBA. Everybody is chasing the Las Vegas Aces and has since the opening tip-off of the season. But there are other clubs performing admirably in 2023. The Connecticut Sun (17-6) and Dallas Wings (13-9) are two of them. They go head-to-head in Dallas.

The Wings handled their business over the weekend against the L.A. Sparks and have been excellent at home this season (8-2). Arike Ogunbowale is third in the WNBA with 21.9 points per game and third in steals with 1.7. She’s a force to be reckoned with. The Sun’s Alyssa Thomas is a rebounding demon, corralling 9.6 boards per tilt. At this stage in the season, this is one of the best matchups in the WNBA and not at all easy to predict. Dallas’ strong home play should be enough to pull them through, if only just.

Best Bet: Dallas Wings on the moneyline. Check our WNBA odds as they update.