Rangers vs Nationals Matchup Odds: AL West-Leading Battle

Can Washington Nationals Finally Enjoy Some Home Cooking With Texas in Town?

This will be a tale of two franchises going in different directions. Texas leads the American League West Division with Washington one of two National League teams posting a winning percentage under .400. Keep that in mind when looking at the Rangers vs Nationals matchup odds.

Neither team will come into the series bursting with confidence. Heading into Thursday’s action, Texas has lost 16 of its last 27 baseball games with Washington 9-17 during that time.

Texas has won five of the last seven games against Washington. Six straight games between the teams had finished under the baseball betting total before the most recent meeting went just over the nine-run total with Washington winning 6-4.

Washington has the fewest home wins among National League teams while Texas was six games over .500 on the road before the start of play on Thursday.

Texas is fifth at +1200 in the odds to win the World Series. Washington is well back at +100000.

Probable Pitching Matchups

• Friday: Andrew Heaney (Rangers); Trevor Williams (Nationals)
• Saturday: Martin Perez (Rangers); Jake Irvin (Nationals)
• Sunday: Dane Dunning (Rangers); Patrick Corbin (Nationals)

Welcome Home

As a relief pitcher, it can be hard to project when the work is coming.

However, don’t be surprised to see the Texas Rangers look to get Josh Sborz some work in this series.

Sborz is a Washington, D.C. native who has never played in his hometown since making it to the big leagues.

Sborz did toss a scoreless inning in a 2022 home game against the Nationals with three strikeouts, one walk and one hit allowed. However, that was a home game.

Sborz, in his third season with the Rangers, has matched his career-high with four wins and he has 49 strikeouts in 36 innings this MLB season. He is just one of the reasons why the visiting Rangers are favored according to the Rangers vs Nationals matchup odds.

Not including Thursday’s game, five of the last six games played by the Rangers finished under the total.

A Little Too Generous

This appears to be the season of giving for the Nationals as Washington pitchers walked 28 batters and allowed 12 home runs in a six-game span heading into Thursday’s series finale with Cincinnati.

The three probable starting pitchers for the upcoming series have allowed 16 home runs and walked 27 batters over the last 81 innings of work. It is no wonder that Washington is the underdog according to the Rangers vs Nationals matchup odds.

Jake Irvin has been the most effective of the trio with a 3.18 ERA in his last four starts. Patrick Corbin is 1-5 with a 5.56 ERA in his last six outings.

Washington was 1-13 in its last 14 home games going into Thursday’s game against Cincinnati.

Who’s Hot

• Dane Dunning, Texas Rangers P: Dunning is 3-0 with a 2.27 ERA in his last four starts.
• Jose Ferrer, Washington Nationals P: Ferrer allowed one hit and no runs with five strikeouts in nine innings since making his MLB debut on July 1.
• Travis Jankowski, Texas Rangers OF: Jankowski was 9-of-19 with two extra-base hits and seven RBIs in a recent six-game stretch.
• Lane Thomas, Washington Nationals OF: Thomas had a .370 batting average with three doubles and eight RBIs over 11 games.

Who’s Not

• Patrick Corbin, Washington Nationals P: Corbin has allowed at least 10 hits in three of his last six starts.
• Ezequiel Duran, Texas Rangers IF: Duran was 1-for-17 with nine strikeouts over a span of four games heading into Thursday’s action.
• John King, Texas Rangers P: King allowed six hits and seven runs over 8.2 innings in a five-game stretch.
• Joey Meneses, Washington Nationals DH: Meneses was 3-for-22 with eight strikeouts in his six games going into Thursday’s action.

Rangers vs Nationals Injury Update

Keep an eye on the status of Texas pitcher Andrew Heaney. Heaney is currently listed as the starter for the Rangers in the series opener. However, he will need to be activated off the paternity list first. The Rangers are expected to get relief pitcher Jose Leclerc back at some point in July.

Infielders Dominic Smith and Luis Garcia as well as outfielder Corey Dickerson were not in the starting lineup for Washington in the Nationals’ last game.

Rangers vs Nationals Betting Preview

Texas has scored the most runs in the majors while Washington has the fewest runs scored among National League teams. The Rangers are first and the Nationals 14th in batting average with runners in scoring position and the Rangers have hit 35 home runs with runners in scoring position, the most in the majors.

Washington has been favored just twice this season and is 32-51 as the underdog (not including Thursday’s game). Texas

Nearly half of the times when Washington has covered, it happened when the Nationals were on the road.

Texas headed into Thursday’s action 33-22 when listed as the favorite and 25-17 against the spread on the road.

The Rangers have been battling it out with Cincinnati and Baltimore for the best mark against the run line totals this season. Washington ranks fifth when it comes to covering against the run line.

Texas is priced at -170 to win Friday’s series opener. The total sits at 10.5 slightly juiced toward the under at -115.

For MLB betting news, odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.

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