Rangers vs. Athletics MLB Picks: Will High Scoring Trend Continue?

The Texas Rangers and Oakland Athletics play the second game of a three-game set tonight on the West Coast. We break down this matchup with our Rangers-Athletics picks.

Among Saturday’s primetime MLB action is an AL West showdown between the Texas Rangers and Oakland Athletics.

The Rangers (53-39 against the spread, 44-42-6 Over/Under) were able to start the second half of the season with a blowout win over the Miami Marlins. While out of it in the AL West race, they're still within striking distance of a Wild Card spot.

This matchup will actually be the fourth game after the MLB All-Star break for the Athletics (47-49 ATS, 38-51-7 O/U). After splitting a makeup doubleheader with Detroit on Thursday, the A’s used a three-run fifth inning to slip past Texas 5-4 on Friday. 

Here are my MLB picks and predictions for Saturday’s game between the Rangers and Athletics (odds via BetMGM and FanDuel Sportsbook; pick confidence based on a 1-to-5-star scale).

Rangers vs. Athletics Game Info

Date: Saturday, July 23, 9:07 p.m. ETTV: FS1Location: RingCentral Coliseum, Oakland, CAWeather: 61?, Wind 9 MPH (blowing out)

Rangers vs. Athletics Odds

Rangers vs. Athletics Odds Analysis

Oddsmakers did open the Rangers as a slight road favorite for Saturday’s contest. The MLB betting market was willing to get behind Texas, and the consensus moneyline price has grown 15 cents from -110 to -125 as a result. The Rangers have attracted over 65% of all handle wagered on both the moneyline and run line.

Although the game total has held steady at the opening line of 7.5, the associated pricing has shifted in a big way. Bookmakers first set the total with -120 juice on the Under. Now, consensus odds show that bettors must lay -115 on the Over. A whopping 85% of all bets placed and all handle wagered at DraftKings have come in on the Over to cause the shift.

Rangers vs. Athletics Projected Starting Pitchers

Taylor Hearn (4-6, 5.78 ERA, 1.67 WHIP) vs. James Kaprielian (1-5, 5.09 ERA, 1.36 WHIP)

The Rangers will turn to Taylor Hearn as their starting pitcher on Saturday. Despite having an ERA well over five on the season, Hearn has managed to win four games. While he accumulated seven strikeouts in his final start against Seattle before the break, he also ceded four runs and lasted just four innings.

For the Athletics, James Kaprielian will get the nod this evening. The right-hander actually enters with a better ERA and WHIP than his counterpart. However, he has only one win to show for it on the year. His last start also came against Texas, where for the second time this season the Rangers managed to tag him for multiple runs as he lasted only five innings.

Rangers vs. Athletics Picks

Rangers -1.5 (+135 via BetMGM) ??Over 7.5 (-112 via FanDuel) ????Both teams to score 3+ runs (+125 via BetMGM) ????

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Rangers vs. Athletics Predictions

Rangers -1.5 (+135)

Despite the A’s outscoring the Rangers on Friday, the gap between these two lineups on paper remains quite significant. With the tandem of Marcus Semian and Corey Seager spearheading the order and Adolis Garcia batting cleanup, Texas has proven to be much more capable offensively this season. 

In terms of runs scored per game, the Rangers rank 11th in all of baseball at 4.54. On the other hand, the Athletics have been one of the most dreadful offenses in the league. Oakland’s 3.31 runs per game rank 29th. 

The other factor to note is the game takes place in the Bay Area. The A’s have been the worst team in baseball when playing at home this season by a long shot, with a -96 run differential at the RingCentral Coliseum. To put that into perspective, they're are only sitting at a -21 differential in all games played away from home.

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Over 7.5 (-112 via FanDuel)

It was stunning to see the total for this open up with the odds juiced heavily towards the Under. After all, six of the last seven Rangers-A’s head-to-head matchups have gone Over. Based on the fact that both starting pitchers come in with ERAs north of 5.00, it’s hard to envision a low-scoring game. 

Diving deeper into some of these trends, each of the last four matchups between the teams in the Bay Area has gone Over. Of those four games, only Friday’s series-opener failed to produce a double-digit run total. 

Taylor Hearn has also already faced the A’s in Oakland once this season on May 28. That game produced 15 total runs. Meanwhile, each of James Kaprielian’s two previous outings against the Rangers this season has also gone Over.

Both teams to score 3+ runs (+125)

This prop feeds right into our handicap of Friday’s matchup going Over. Bettors are encouraged to shop around for this prop at multiple sportsbooks as discrepancies as large as 25 cents exist in the market.

During the ongoing run in which six of seven Rangers vs. Athletics matchups have gone Over, there has only been one instance in which one of the two sides failed to score at least four runs. As one might have guessed, that occurred in the only game to stay Under the total during that span, a game back on July 13 

The fact that both teams have been good for four runs or more with tremendous consistency when facing one another makes a +125 price on three or more runs each a great bet to make. Even if the starters exceed expectation, neither club’s bullpen is anything to write home about.

Where to Bet on Rangers vs. Athletics

Here are our top-rated sportsbooks:

FanDuel SportsbookCaesars SportsbookDraftKings SportsbookPointsBetBetMGM

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Rangers-Athletics picks from 7/23/2022 at 12:34 p.m. ET.