MLB Betting Preview: Rangers vs Red Sox Preview Odds
Struggling Non-Contenders Face Off in Boston

Texas went on a big free-agent spending spree only to find themselves buried by a rough start while Boston went from making the ALCS to being in the AL East cellar. Still, the Rangers vs Red Sox preview odds give Boston a slight edge.
Both the Texas Rangers and Boston Red Sox had playoff hopes for 2022, albeit relatively measured ones, yet the season has been close to a disaster for each of them. They’ll matchup for a four-game series at Fenway Park this week (and weekend) as they try to inch toward .500.
Neither team is playing particularly well right now either. The Rangers dropped a pair of close games to the Houston Astros this week and have lost four in a row overall while the Red Sox are coming off a series loss against the Minnesota Twins, having lost seven of their last 10 games.
Boston did salvage the series finale on Wednesday, winning 6-5 behind a monster game from Xander Bogaerts, and will look to build on it this weekend. The Red Sox spread in Game 1, with Rich Hill facing Glenn Otto, which favors Boston significantly as well.
Rangers-Red Sox Game 1 Information
- Game: Texas Rangers (58-71) at Boston Red Sox (63-68)
- Location: Fenway Park
- Day/Time:
Red Sox Have Starter Advantage
Considering that MartÃn Pérez (Texas’ best starting pitcher all season) pitched on Wednesday and that Jon Gray is on the injured list, the Rangers’ starter options for this series are on the weaker side of things.
Texas will trot out Otto, the newly signed Dallas Keuchel, Kolby Allard, and Dane Dunning in this four-game set which isn’t exactly a formidable group. On the other hand, Boston gets to turn to some of its more reliable arms in Hill and Nick Pivetta, albeit with some less-consistent guys in Brayan Bello and Kutter Crawford as well.Still, the Red Sox have a marked advantage in this area.
The Rangers’ rotation has been bad all season and the two guys who have held it together somewhat won’t make appearances this series. That will put additional pressure on a Texas bullpen that has a few very impressive options in Brock Burke and Matt Moore but has almost no healthy depth.
Those pitching woes have played a big role in the disappointing Texas Rangers standings 2022.Dunning is the best of the bench for Texas but even he won’t go under Sunday when this series could already be decided by. Things are so bad for the Rangers that they picked up Keuchel, who gave up seven runs in his Texas debut and has a combined 8.44 ERA this season for three different teams. Boston should tee off on him.
Boston’s Top Of Lineup is Scary
For all of Boston’s problems this season, the performance of the Red Sox’ top three hitters has been the main bright spot. Bogaerts, Rafael Devers, and J.D. Martinez have all been great even if their run production numbers are a bit depressed by how bad the rest of the lineup has been.
Injuries have sidelined guys like players Trevor Story and Kiké Hernández for significant portions of the season which has contributed to some of Boston’s downswings but the Red Sox are still fourth in the AL in runs scored and in the top-five in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and OPS.The Rangers vs Red Sox preview odds certainly take into consideration Boston being able to face a few weak starters and Texas being a merely middle-of-the-pack offense.
The Red Sox can put up runs in a hurry, especially if the Rangers’ starters have to go through the Bogaerts-Devers-Martinez part of the order with guys already on base.
Texas Struggles In Close Games
It’s a little surprising that the Rangers are 12 games below .500 while having a positive run differential (+5). You can look at that anomaly in two ways: (1) Texas is actually a decent team that has been struck with bad luck; or (2) the Rangers are uniquely bad in close games. The Rangers are a remarkable 10-27 in one-run games, a fact which contributed to them firing manager Chris Woodward and general manager Jon Daniels in August.
While some of that bad record could be attributed to bad luck, it certainly has something to do with Texas’ top-heavy lineup, thin bullpen, and overall underwhelming starting rotation. Bad teams tend to play from behind a lot and, without a lockdown bullpen, they also blow late leads.
The Rangers are also a fairly bad fielding team and defensive errors tend to prop up in close games. There are a ton of factors why Texas struggles in one-run games and that’s important to remember for the Rangers vs Red Sox preview odds.