It’s an all-Texas affair in the American League Championship Series as the Houston Astros take on the Texas Rangers.
The Astros will host the Rangers at Minute Maid Park for Game 1 on Sunday, so let’s get into how oddsmakers are setting the lines.
The defending World Series champions opened as -148 favorites at FanDuel Sportsbook, while Texas is +126 to win the pennant.
These two teams, plus the Mariners, battled each other for the American League West title all summer, with the Astros coming out on top by a single game in the end.
The Rangers made quick work of the 99-win Tampa Bay Rays during the Wild Card Series, sweeping them in two games before also sweeping the AL East champion Baltimore Orioles in the Divisional Round.
Houston took care of the Minnesota Twins in four games during the Divisional Round to make its seventh straight ALCS.
The Astros are currently sitting as the World Series favorites (+185, FanDuel).
The Rangers have the third-best odds (+290), behind the Phillies (+210) but ahead of the Diamondbacks (+470).
With several days off before the series starts, Game 1 could feature an elite pitching matchup.
Justin Verlander has already been announced as the Game 1 starter for the ‘Stros, and although they haven’t made it official yet, Nathan Eovaldi will be on normal rest and should be ready to start on Sunday.
The Astros’ rotation appears a bit deeper than the Rangers’, but that’ll depend on if Max Scherzer can return from a shoulder injury.
Scheraer and starting pitcher Jon Gray are trending in the right direction to play for Texas in the ALCS, a massive boost for them.
Of course, both offenses come into the series red-hot, featuring premier bats in all of baseball.
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The Rangers scored 21 runs during their three-game sweep of the Orioles, while the Astros mustered 20 runs over four games against a solid Twins pitching staff.
Although Texas’ bullpen was solid during the first two rounds of the playoffs, the Astros will likely hold the advantage since the Rangers’ bullpen was one of the worst throughout the regular season.
These teams are pretty similar on paper, but home-field advantage and a ton of playoff experience gives the Astros the slight edge.
THE PICK: Astros (-148, FanDuel)
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