The surprise of the American League heading into the MLB All-Star break has been the Texas Rangers.
The Rangers lead the highly competitive AL West and on Friday will face the Houston Astros; the preseason favorites to win the division.
Texas’ starting pitching has been excellent this season and a key cog in the rotation is Nathan Eovaldi (9-3, 2.82 ERA).
An AL Cy Young contender, Eovaldi has nine starts this season when he allowed two runs or fewer.
Astros vs. Rangers pick
(8:05 p.m. Eastern)
Nevertheless, his last four starts have been a little shaky.
Eovaldi gave up 13 runs over 25.0 innings with Texas going 1-3 in those games.
The Astros counter with Ronel Blanco (1-0, 4.63 ERA). Blanco is making his fifth start of the season but control has been an issue for the right-hander.
In his prior four starts, Blanco has given up 19 hits and 11 walks in 23.0 innings.
Blanco has faced Texas twice this year as a relief pitcher but it didn’t go well.
He allowed five hits and four runs over 3.0 innings of work.
Betting on Baseball?
Eovaldi has been strong most of the year but his last five outings have averaged 11.2 runs, while Blanco’s last two starts have produced 15 and 16 runs.
With the way the Rangers have hammered Blanco in his two appearances against them this season, I expect another high-scoring game Friday night.
Our pick
Over 9.5 runs (PointsBet)
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