Kyle Lupas
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If you don’t like sitting around for an entire baseball game waiting for your bet to cash, the YRFI/NRFI market may be for you. Just reserve about 10 to 15 minutes to watch the first inning and forget about the other eight. The only thing more exciting than NFL Sunday is postseason baseball, and tonight marks the start of the ALCS between the defending champion Houston Astros and the visiting Texas Rangers. So, let’s get right into it, and don’t forget to check out our MLB picks on the side and total.
Texas Rangers vs Houston Astros: NRFI (-110)
The Texas Rangers are a perfect 5-0 through the first 2 rounds of this postseason, but tonight they go up against future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander in a hostile Houston environment. Verlander, now in his second stint with the Astros, has his eyes set on another World Series and has provided an immediate boost to the starting rotation since rejoining the Stros in August. Through 11 regular-season starts with Houston, the 40-year-old owns a 3.31 ERA and tossed a 6.0 inning shutout against the Minnesota Twins in Game 1 of the ALDS. The Rangers’ lineup has been among the best in baseball this season and has been productive in October. However, Verlander had success against them on September 6 when he held Texas to 1 earned run across 7.0 innings with the lone run coming on a leadoff homer from Marcus Semien.
The Rangers counter with left-hander Jordan Montgomery, whose numbers don’t jump off the page, but his productivity can’t be denied. In 32 starts split between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Rangers, Montgomery registered a 3.20 ERA and he’ll look to bounce back after surrendering 4 earned runs over 4.0 innings to the Baltimore Orioles in Game 2 of the ALDS. Prior to that start, Montgomery had managed to string together 5 consecutive outings in which he went at least 6.0 innings while allowing no more than 1 earned run. Montgomery won’t overpower this Houston lineup, but he ranks above the league average in chase rate, walk rate, hard-hit rate, and ground-ball rate with a great mix of pitches including a sinker, changeup and curveball. Give me a scoreless first inning in Houston tonight.
Check out our full Rangers vs Astros Game 1 predictions
