The St. Louis Cardinals (25-36) and the Texas Rangers (39-20) play the middle contest of a 3-game interleague series Tuesday at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. First pitch is scheduled for 8:05 p.m. ET. Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s lines around the Cardinals vs. Rangers odds and make our expert MLB picks and predictions for the best bets.
Season series: Rangers lead 1-0
The Cardinals are in freefall, dropping 4 straight outings while going 3-8 across the past 11 games on the road to fall into last place in the NL Central. St. Louis is just 9-12 in interleague play and is 13-20 on the road.
The Rangers picked up a 4-3 win in the series opener Monday to maintain a 3 1/2 game lead over the Houston Astros in the AL West. Texas is tops in the majors with a plus-153 run differential.
Texas has won 4 in a row, and 8 of its last 10 games, winning 5 straight series since dropping 2 of 3 outings against the visiting Atlanta Braves from May 15-17.
Cardinals at Rangers projected starters
LHP Matthew Liberatore vs. RHP Dane Dunning
Liberatore (1-1, 4.91 ERA) makes his 3rd start and 4th appearance overall. He has a 1.36 WHIP, 4.9 BB/9 and 7.4 K/9 in 11 innings.
- Last start: Loss, 5 IP, 4 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 2 K in a 4-3 road loss vs. the Cleveland Guardians on May 26, his only road start this season
- 2022 Road splits: 0-2, 8.06 ERA (22 1/3 IP, 20 ER) with a .352 OBA in 5 starts and 1 relief appearance
Dunning (4-1, 2.06 ERA) makes his 6th start and 14th appearance. He has a 1.04 WHIP, 3.7 BB/9 and 9.1 K/9 in 48 innings.
- Last start: Loss, 5 IP, 3 ER, 7 H, 1 BB, 6 K in a 3-2 road loss vs. the Detroit Tigers Wednesday
- 2023 Home splits: 2-0, 1.47 ERA (18 1/3 IP, 3 ER) with a .212 OBA in 1 start and 4 relief appearances
Cardinals at Rangers odds
Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 7:52 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Cardinals +125 (bet $100 to win $125) | Rangers -155 (bet $155 to win $100)
- Run line (RL)/Against the spread (ATS): Cardinals +1.5 (-150) | Rangers -1.5 (+125)
- Over/Under (O/U): 9.5 (O: -115 | U: -105)
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Cardinals at Rangers picks and predictions
Prediction
Rangers 6, Cardinals 2
Moneyline
The RANGERS (-155) are rather moderate favorites, and they’re a solid value at this price point.
The Cardinals have been terrible lately, especially against the AL West. The Cards are 1-10 in the past 11 vs. AL West, 0-5 in their past 5 outings on the road and 1-4 in the past 5 games against right-handed starting pitchers.
Run line/Against the spread
The RANGERS -1.5 (+125) are a solid play at plus money, even though Texas failed to cover the run line in the series opener.
The Rangers, leaguer leaders in run differential, have won their previous 3 games by 2 or more runs and 7 of the team’s last 8 victories have been by 2 or more runs. So if you like Texas to win, you should like it to cover the run line, too.
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Over/Under
The UNDER 9.5 (-105) is the lean. It cashed in the series opener and is a good bet again Tuesday.
The Texas offense has been prolific this season, and the Over is 11-5 in the past 16 games against a left-handed starting pitcher.
However, St. Louis has plated 3 or fewer goals in 10 of the past 11 games, and it’s hard to envision the Cards piling up runs against Dunning, who has been tremendously efficient.
For more sports betting picks and tips, check out SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW.
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