There is one thing for sure: the state of Texas will have a representative in the World Series. With the Texas Rangers vs. Houston Astros American League Championship series set to start on Sunday, October 15th, the best of seven-game series will decide the American League champion.
Here, we look at odds, props, and predictions for Game 1 of this Rangers vs. Astros ALCS.
The first pitch on Sunday in Houston at Minute Made Park is still to be determined, but there are some interesting storylines to look out for. First off, what will each team’s ALCS roster look like?
The Rangers specifically have several stars that have not been on their ALWC or ALDS rosters.
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Getting back Jon Gray and Max Scherzer both seem to be a possibility. It will be interesting if one or both are on the roster who gets left off and to see if they get used as a starter or are brought out of the bullpen.
Gray seems less likely to be used as a starter if both are back. Still, Scherzer is an exciting possibility as his career and playoff history make him another potential ace pitcher to add to an already strong Rangers rotation.
Odds for Rangers vs. Astros in ALCS Game 1
Check out the latest live odds for the Rangers vs. Astros. Houston has an early lead odds-wise to win the series, but especially as we get closer to Sunday and series rosters are released, it would not be a shock to see the favorite flip a time or two.
Texas Rangers betting news
The Texas Rangers have been incredible through the playoffs so far, even after losing four out of their last six regular season games. The Rangers swept the Tampa Bay Rays in the ALWS and swept the Baltimore Orioles in the ALDS. The bats have been hot, and the pitching staff has only allowed more than two runs in one of their five playoff games.
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The back-to-back sweeps will also help the Rangers reset their rotation as well, with any pitcher on staff having at least four days rest coming into game 1 on Sunday. With all options open, seeing who takes the bump in Game 1 of the series will be interesting.
There will be three probable options:
- Jordan Montgomery
- Nathan Eovaldi
- Max Scherzer
Smart money is on Eovaldi, as he has had two excellent starts this postseason. If Scherzer is all of a sudden completely healthy, though, he is far and away the most talented and has the most playoff experience of the three. Just getting Scherzer back for the series in any availability would be huge for the Rangers.
Rust may have been a concern, but with the Astros winning their series in four games, Houston will have three days off coming into the series, whereas the Rangers will have four. With both teams having a multi-day gap between their series, any rust factor should be equal.
Houston Astros betting news
The Astros are looking to go back-to-back as the world champions, but to get that shot, they will have to win a backyard brawl with in-state rival, the Texas Rangers. This series will be one of the most intense ALCS’s in recent memory.
With two teams from Texas facing off, this battle could be reminiscent of a few of the Red Sox vs. Yankees ALCS series from the early 2000s. The Red Sox and Yankees went seven games in 2003 and 2004. This series is so evenly matched we expect it to go at least six games, possibly seven.
The Astros lineup was very strong in the middle in their series against the Minnesota Twins. That is due to one man, Yordan Alvarez, who was unstoppable in the ALDS, going 6-12 with 4 HRs, 6 R’s, 6 RBIs, .538 OBP, 1.667 SLG, and a 2.205 OPS. If he continues on this pace and the Astros make it to the World Series, he will stand a great chance to win World Series MVP.
On the other side of the diamond, the Astros’ pitching and defense were also strong. The defense had a perfect fielding percentage in the ALDS, with not a single error. While the starting pitchers had three quality starts in four games. The only bad start came from arguably the Astros’ best-starting pitcher in the regular season, Framber Valdez, in their Game 2 loss to the Twins.
It will be interesting to see the rotation order for the Astros as the only starter that won’t be on full rest by Game 1 is ALDS Game 4 starter Jose Urquidy. It is probably a safe bet that Justin Verlander will start Game 1, but who comes next will be interesting.
Does Dusty Baker give the ball to Valdez, who was great all season but had a bad playoff start, or will Baker give it to Christian Javier or Urquidy? It could also depend on the result of game 1, where Baker feels like he needs to go.
Rangers vs. Astros ALCS series schedule
What will change from the AL wild card and division series is that the American League Championship Series is a best out of seven. With games 1 and 2 at the higher seed (Astros), games 3-5 at the lower seed (Rangers), and games 6 and 7 back at the higher seed (Astros).
- 10/15: Game 1 – Rangers at Astros, Sunday
- 10/16 Game 2 – Rangers at Astros, Monday
- 10/18 Game 3 – Astros at Rangers, Wednesday
- 10/19 Game 4 – Astros at Rangers, Thursday
- 10/ 20 Game 5 (if necessary) – Astros at Rangers, Friday
- 10/22 Game 6 (if necessary) – Rangers at Astros, Sunday
- 10/23 Game 7 (if necessary) – Rangers at Astros, Monday
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Texas Rangers vs. Houston Astros: Astros with a slight advantage to win the ALCS
It is slightly early to strongly agree on which team from Texas advances to the World Series. It will be important to see if Max Scherzer or Jon Gray are on the ALCS roster.
That could be a deciding factor. One thing that every baseball fan is hoping for, though, is to see a Verlander vs. Scherzer duel that would be potentially epic.
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