Texas Rangers vs. Cleveland Indians Betting Preview

Tuesday starts a three-game series between American League foes as the Texas Rangers (43-81) take on the Cleveland Indians (61-61). The Indians will host this one at Progressive Field, with first pitch scheduled for 7:10 pm ET.

The Rangers come into this one on the heels of a series loss to the Boston Red Sox as they dropped two of three, including an 8-4 loss on Monday. In the extra-inning loss, the Rangers were able to tie it up in the ninth but ultimately dropped it in extras when they gave up four runs in the 11th.

The Indians had a successful weekend as they swept the Los Angeles Angels in the three-game set. After winning 3-0 on Sunday, the Indians enjoyed the day off Monday ahead of Tuesday’s contest with Texas.

The Indians are the favorites playing at home. They are -156 to win Tuesday while the Rangers’ moneyline sits at +144.

Pitching Matchup

The Rangers will send lefty Taylor Hearn to the mound for the opener. On the season, Hearn is 2-4 with a 3.97 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, and has struck out 65 in 65.2 innings.

The Indians will counter with righty Eli Morgan (2-5, 5.80 ERA). Even though Morgan has been shaky this season, he was stellar in his last outing as he picked up the win over the Twins, going six innings of scoreless baseball and striking out eight.

By The Number

Offensively, the Indians have been the better of the two teams this season. They currently rank 18th in scoring averaging 4.39 runs per game. The Rangers fall to 29th, averaging just 3.78 runs per game.

It is once again the Indians who hold the advantage defensively. They rank 15th in the majors in scoring defense, allowing opponents 4.55 runs per game. The Rangers rank 26th, allowing 4.95 runs per game.

Rangers Try To Avoid Road Woes

At 43-81, the Rangers have had a miserable season this year, but they have been especially brutal when playing on the road. At 15-47 away from Globe Life Field, the Rangers will hope to avoid their road woes in this one.

Outfielder Adolis Garcia leads the Rangers’ offense as he is hitting .245/.289/.481 with 27 home runs, 71 runs batted in, and 58 runs scored.

Both he and DJ Peters have three home runs apiece over the last couple of weeks, but they also have a combined 38 strikeouts in that span as well.

Indians Holding Onto Thread Of Hope For Postseason

Realistically, the Indians are going to have a really tough time trying to compete for a playoff spot, but with their sweep over the weekend, they now sit eight games out of the second Wild Card spot.

They also have the ninth easiest remaining schedule as opponents have a combined .486 winning percentage, but they are going to have to go on quite the roll to make up enough ground with just 40 games remaining.

Leading the way for the offense is third baseman Jose Ramirez. On the season, he is hitting .257/.341/.547 with a team-leading 29 home runs, 79 runs batted in, 81 runs, and 16 stolen bases.

Indians Have Opportunity To Keep Winning Streak Going

After sweeping the Angels over the weekend, the Indians have a great opportunity to extend the winning streak to four games against a struggling Rangers’ team.

This one really boils down to Eli Morgan. If he can string together another solid outing, the Indians should be in good shape, but if he shows the inconsistency that has plagued him this season, it could be their downfall.

Regardless, the Indians should very much be in this game throughout and really should expect to win it.