Rangers vs Astros Series Preview: Houston Favored to Return to the World Series
Veteran Verlander Set to Pitch Series Opener for the Favored Houston Astros
Houston Astros Are the Lone Remaining Division Champion Left in the Playoffs
The Houston Astros and Texas Rangers battled for American League West supremacy all season long. Now they meet with a spot in the World Series on the line as the Rangers vs Astros series preview favoring Houston to advance.
This is the seventh straight trip to the American League Championship Series for the Astros, only the 1990s Atlanta Braves had a longer streak. It is the first time two teams from the same state have met in the ALCS. It has never happened in the National League Championship Series.
Houston is trying to become the first World Series winner to defend its title since the New York Yankees won three straight titles from 1998-2000.
When looking at the best baseball bets today, the Astros are priced at -138 to win Sunday’s series opener. Houston is the favorite with -140 to win the series, with Texas coming in at +110.
This will be the first postseason series between the teams.
According to the World Series odds, Houston came into the season as the favorite at +650 to win the World Series, with the Rangers priced at +5000 in the championship odds.
Rangers vs Astros 
Dates/Times:
- Game 1 – Sunday, 8:15 p.m.
- Game 2 – Monday, 4:37 p.m. ET
- Game 3 – Wednesday, 8:03 p.m. ET
- Game 4 – Thursday, 8:03 p.m. ET
- Game 5 (if necessary) – 5:07 p.m. ET
- Game 6 (if necessary) – 8:03 p.m. ET
- Game 7 (if necessary) – 8:03 p.m. ET
Locations
- Game 1 & 2, 6 (if necessary) & 7 (if necessary) at Minute Maid Park, Houston
- Game 3, 4 and 5 (if necessary) at Globe Life Field, Arlington, TX
TV & Live Stream
- Game 1 (FOX)
- Games 2 & 7 (FOX/FS1)
- Games 3, 4, 5 and 6 (FS1)
Rookies Delivering for the Rangers
It was hard to know what to expect from rookies Josh Jung and Evan Carter heading into the postseason.
with nine runs, six doubles, nine extra-base hits, and six RBIs. Keep When Texas won twice to eliminate Toronto and then swept the No. 1 seeded Baltimore Orioles in three games, they were 14-for-33 with nine runs, six doubles, nine extra-base hits, and six RBIs. Keep that in mind regarding the Rangers vs Astros series preview.
With all the injuries to the pitching staff, keep an eye on how the rotation shakes out for the Rangers.
Just one of the last 10 games played by the Rangers finished over the total.
The Astros Turning on the Power
Houston hit 10 home runs in winning three of the four games against the Twins.
During that series, 17 of the 20 runs scored by Houston came courtesy of home runs.
Yordan Alvarez led the way with four home runs, topping his total in 13 postseason games during Houston’s run to the World Series title.
Jose Abreu added three home runs and led Houston with eight RBIs. The power from the middle of the Houston lineup could impact the Rangers vs Astros series preview.
Three of Houston’s last four games finished over the total.
Who’s Hot
- Bryan Abreu, Houston Astros P: Abreu has surrendered two hits and no runs with seven strikeouts in 3.1 innings in three games in this year’s playoffs.
- Yordan Alvarez, Houston Astros DH: Alvarez hit .438 with two home runs and four home runs in four games against the Minnesota Twins.
- Evan Carter, Texas Rangers OF: Carter has hits in each of the five playoff games. He is hitting .429 with four extra-base hits, three runs and three RBIs.
- Aroldis Chapman, Texas Rangers P: Chapman has allowed one hit and no runs with three strikeouts in 2.2 innings in three playoff games.
Who’s Not
- Robbie Grossman, Texas Rangers OF: Grossman is 2-for-14 with eight strikeouts in the postseason.
- Jordan Montgomery, Texas Rangers P: Montgomery allowed nine hits and five runs (four earned) in four innings in his last appearance.
- Kyle Tucker, Houston Astros OF: Tucker is 2-for-14 with six strikeouts in this year’s playoffs.
- Framber Valdez, Houston Astros P: Valdez gave up seven hits and five runs in 4.1 innings in his lone 2023 postseason outing.
Rangers vs Astros Head-to-Head
Houston won nine of the 13 games during the regular season, including seven wins in the last eight contests.
The Astros outscored the Rangers 39-10 as Houston swept a three-game series in Texas in September.
Six of the last seven games between the teams finished over the total.
The road team won six of the last eight meetings.
Rangers vs Astros Betting Preview
This is the first postseason meeting between the Rangers and Astros. They finished with the same record during the regular season.
With Verlander going in the opener, it is an easy choice to go with the Astros even if the Rangers have yet to lose in the 2023 postseason.
The teams are 72-30 against the run line when listed as the underdog compared to a 105-126 record as the favorite.
Texas is 24-25 when listed as the underdog, but the Rangers have covered 47 of the 85 games as road underdogs. Houston is just 34-49 against the spread as a home favorite.
Houston was a much better team on the road than at home during the regular season. Will that trend continue in this series?
Pitchers Max Scherzer and Jon Gray are among the injured Texas players to watch.
Verlander is 17-11 with a 3.54 ERA in 36 career postseason appearances (all but one of them being starts). That includes a 7-4 mark and 3.01 ERA in 12 career American League Championship Series starts. That is enough to roll with the favored Astros in the series opener.
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