The hottest team in baseball looks to keep it going when the Rangers vs Phillies interleague series starts on Tuesday. Philadelphia has the best record in baseball, while Texas is trying to get back to its World Series-winning form of last fall.
Texas (24-24) has dropped seven of its last nine contests, including losing a three-game series at home against the Los Angeles Angels over the weekend. The Rangers are in second place in the MLB AL West, trailing the first-place Seattle Mariners by 1.5 games entering Monday’s action.
Philadelphia has won three in a row and 19 of its last 24 contests. The Phillies standings in the MLB NL East had improved to a five-game lead over the Atlanta Braves after a weekend sweep of the Washington Nationals.
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The MLB betting odds for the series opener favor Philadelphia to come out on top, with the Phillies listed at -162 on the moneyline. The Rangers are +136 to come away with the straight-up win.
If you’re betting on the run line, you can get Texas at -162 when it’s getting 1.5 runs. Philadelphia is +134 when giving those runs. The over/under for the series opener is set at 8.5 runs, with -122 odds on the under and +100 on the over.
The series opens with a pair of 6:40 p.m. ET contests on Tuesday and Wednesday. The series finale is scheduled for a 1:05 p.m. ET start on Thursday.
Philadelphia Phillies vs Texas Rangers
Day/Time: Tuesday, May 21st, 4:40 pm ET.
Location: Citizens Bank Oak, Philadelphia
Streaming: ESPN, ESPN+
Pitching Matchups
Game 1: Jon Gray (Texas) vs Ranger Suarez (Philadelphia)
The under is one of the better MLB bets today because of the matchup of starting pitchers. Texas will have righty Jon Gray on the mound, and he has the sixth-best ERA in the majors at 2.08 despite a record of just 2-1 through 10 appearances (nine starts).
Gray has struck out 52 in 52 innings of work. He’s coming off 6.1 innings of shutout ball against the Cleveland Guardians last Wednesday, allowing four hits while striking out three and walking two.
The other part of the low-scoring contest equation is Philadelphia starter Ranger Suarez, who has the second-best ERA in baseball at 1.37. The left-hander also leads the majors in victories with an 8-0 record and has 58 strikeouts in 59 innings.
Suarez hasn’t given up an earned run over his last two starts, which spanned 12 innings, as he struck out 12 and walked four while allowing just seven hits.
Game 2: Andrew Heaney (Texas) vs Taijuan Walker (Philadelphia)
The Rangers will have lefty Andrew Heaney making his 10th start of the season on Wednesday, with the 32-year-old still looking for his first win of the campaign.
Heaney is 0-5 with a 4.43 ERA, though he’s been much better of late. Over his four starts in May, Heaney has an ERA of 2.49 with 22 strikeouts over 21.2 innings.
Philadelphia will have right-hander Taijuan Walker making his fifth start of the season on Wednesday. Walker is 3-0 with a 4.91 ERA, striking out 16 in 22 innings of work.
He’s coming off 3.1 innings against the New York Mets on Thursday, allowing two runs on four hits, including a home run, before leaving after getting hit by a line drive on his left foot.
Game 3: Jose Urena (Texas) vs Zack Wheeler (Philadelphia)
The Texas Rangers standings in the MLB AL West might be better if righty Jose Urena had been starting all season. Instead, Urena will be making his fourth straight start after beginning the season with 10 relief appearances.
The 32-year-old is 1-3 with a 3.29 ERA, but in his three starts, he’s pitched a total of 17.2 innings and allowed four earned runs.
Right-hander Zack Wheeler will get the start for the Phillies in the series finale. He’s 5-3 with a 2.52 ERA, ranking third in the majors with 71 strikeouts in his 60.2 innings of work.
Wheeler bounced back from an ugly outing on May 12 against the Miami Marlins that saw him allow six runs over four innings. His last start saw him go 7.1 innings against the Washington Nationals on Friday, allowing two runs on three hits while striking out six.
TEXAS RANGERS AND PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES:
Phillies Hold Edge At Plate
Philadelphia has been one of the better teams in baseball this season thanks to its offense as well as its pitching staff.
Entering Monday’s action, the Phillies had the fourth-best team batting average at .258 and led all of baseball with 256 runs. Texas is behind Philadelphia in both categories, but not by much, ranking 10th in both among all of baseball.
Third baseman Alec Bohm continues to be the driving force of the Phillies’ lineup, ranking first in baseball with 42 RBI and eighth with a .330 batting average.
Bohm has a six-game hitting streak entering this series and has a hit in 14 of his 16 games this month. He also has 18 doubles, a triple, five home runs and 23 runs scored and is coming off a five-RBI day in Sunday’s win over Washington.
The Rangers are hopeful that outfielder Adolis Garcia will be good to go for this series. Garcia sat out Sunday’s loss to the Los Angeles Angels with forearm pain after a collision with Marcus Semien on Saturday night.
Test results were negative and the team is hopeful that the extra rest will have Garcia in the lineup for Tuesday’s contest. Garcia is batting .251 this season but has nine doubles, 11 home runs, 35 RBI and 24 runs scored.
Phillies Continue To Roll At Home
Our Rangers vs Phillies series predictions should come to no surprise to anyone, as Philadelphia is the pick to come away with wins in the majority of these games. Texas’ pitching staff is still dealing with injuries and the team has been slumping, while Philadelphia has been red hot.
The Rangers could have some trouble getting on the scoreboard against the Phillies. When you’re making your MLB bets on this series, go with Philadelphia to win in each contest.
