On Sunday at 2:35, the Twins and Rangers will face off in an AL matchup. This one is being played at Globe Life Field in Arlington and the Twins are the slight money line favorite (-121). The Rangers are +102 and will be looking to end a three-game losing streak. Tyler Mahle is starting for the Rangers, and the Twins are starting Pablo Lopez.
Minnesota is 70-53 overall and they are on a three-game winning streak. They are second in the AL Central, while the Rangers are third in the AL West with an overall record of 56-68.
Minnesota vs. Texas Matchup At A Glance
- Teams: Twins at Rangers
- Where: Globe Life Field Arlington
- Date: Sunday, August 18th
- Betting Odds MIN -121 | TEX +102 O/U 8
Twins vs Rangers Last Game Recap
It was a low-scoring game in the most recent game of this Twins vs Rangers series. Minnesota went into the matchup as +123 underdogs and squeaked out a 5-2 win. Both teams scored one run in the first inning, and the Rangers could only muster one more run in the 4th inning. As for the Twins, they scored the game's go-ahead run in the 5th and tacked on three insurance runs in the 8th.
Trevor Larnach and Willi Castro were the only two Twins hitters to have more than one hit. Larnach, Carson Kelly, and Josh Donaldson each homered for Minnesota. As for the Rangers, Joey Gallo went deep for the 21st time this season.
David Festa only went five innings for the Twins but gave up just two hits and two earned runs. He finished the game with six strikeouts but didn't issue a walk. Ronny Henriquez got the win out of the bullpen, and Cole Sands got the save. Nathan Eovaldi had a rough outing for the Rangers, taking the loss.
Twins Preview
Minnesota is 70-53 overall this season and has won three straight games. They trail the Guardians by two games for the AL Central lead and have a 28-17 record against divisional opponents. The Twins have a 55-31 record as favorites and are 34-29 on the road straight up.
When the over/under line is set at 8 runs, the Twins have an O/U record of 8-16-4 this season. Their games have averaged 9.2 runs per game, and they are currently on a four-game under streak. The over/under record for Minnesota games this season is 62-57.
Pablo López has been pitching well for the Twins, coming into the game with a record of 11-8 and an ERA of 4.67. He has made 24 starts this season and has turned in 12 quality starts. Looking at his overall numbers, opponents are batting .240 this season. In his 24 appearances, López has a WHIP of 1.15 and is averaging 9.93 strikeouts per nine innings. The right-hander most recently faced the Royals, where he picked up the win, going six innings and giving up two earned runs. Before that, he had given up at least four earned runs in three straight starts.
Carlos Santana and Ryan Jeffers are currently tied for the team lead in home runs, with Santana leading the Twins in RBIs this season. However, Santana has struggled of late, going just 3/22 in his last seven games. Willi Castro has also hit two homers in his last eight games, but his batting average is just .233 over that stretch.
Byron Buxton has gone 3/11 over his last three games, including two homers and three RBIs. For the season, Buxton is batting .259 with 10 homers. The Twins come into the game as one of the league's top offensive teams, as they are 7th in scoring at 4.9 runs per game and are also 7th in team batting average.
Rangers Preview
So far this season, the Rangers' games have averaged 9 runs per game, and their over/under record is 55-64. The under has hit in each of their last three games, and their games with an over/under line of 8 runs have averaged 8.8 runs per game, resulting in an 8-13-2 record.
Texas is 3rd in the AL West, 11 games behind the Astros, and they have lost six straight series. As the favorite, the Rangers have a 36-30 record, while as the underdog, they are 20-38. Overall, Texas is 56-68, and they are down 0-3 in the current series against the Twins.
Tyler Mahle will be making his third start of the season for the Texas Rangers, and he will be at home against the Twins. In his first start of the season, Mahle went 5 innings and took the loss, giving up 1 earned run. He followed that up with a no-decision against the Red Sox, where he struck out 7 but gave up 3 runs.
For the season, the Rangers are averaging 4.2 runs per game, which is 18th in the league. Their batting average of .239 is 14th in the league, and they are also among the league leaders in home runs. Texas has been pretty good at avoiding strikeouts this season, as they are 8th in the league in this category.
Adolis García has been swinging a hot bat of late, going 10/29 in his last seven games with two homers. For the season, he is 2nd on the team with 20 homers but has a batting average of just .225. Corey Seager is leading the team with 63 RBIs and is also 1st on the team with 26 homers. Marcus Semien comes into the game on a six-game hitting streak and is 3rd on the team with 18 homers.
Twins vs. Rangers Prediction: Rangers ML +102
With the Rangers at +102 on the money line, that is the direction we would recommend going for today's Twins vs. Rangers matchup. Our predicted final score is 6-5 in favor of the Rangers, giving them a good amount of value at +102.
Looking at the starting pitchers, Tyler Mahle is projected to finish with seven strikeouts, which is fourth-best among all starters. As for Pablo Lopez, he is projected to finish with six strikeouts, which has him coming in at 12th.
