The Texas Rangers bought at the deadline while the Chicago White Sox sold. Unsurprisingly, the Rangers are sizeable home favorites for Thursday afternoon’s action. With RHP Max Scherzer making his debut, I suspect quite of few of us will be tuning into ESPN+ during the workday to check this one out. Let’s dig into today’s White Sox-Rangers odds as we make our predictions and pick the best MLB bet!
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White Sox-Rangers MLB Betting Pick & Prediction: Max Scherzer Starts Hot
White Sox-Rangers Odds
Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook
White Sox: +198 | Rangers: -240
White Sox +1.5: -104 | Rangers -1.5: -115
Over 9: -104 | Under 9: -118
The Rangers will have an obvious edge on the mound on Thursday. Even though he hasn’t been his usual elite self, RHP Max Scherzer still owns a solid 4.01 ERA, which is a fair bit worse than his 3.66 xERA. Despite the Mets’ struggles, Scherzer had still managed to compile a 9-4 record. He lines up against a mid-June acquisition in RHP Touki Toussaint, whose 3.50 ERA and 4.52 xERA aren’t great. Worse, he has been terrible on the road and owns a 5.14 ERA across 21 innings pitched when away from his home ballpark.
Texas will also have an obvious edge in the batter’s box. The Rangers rank third in expected weighted on-base average, or xwOBA, behind only the Braves and Dodgers, at .341. The already-potent Rangers have been even better at home, as their .798 OPS jumps to .846 in Arlington. Meanwhile, the White Sox rank a dismal 29th in xwOBA at .302. The Sox also parted with their leader in xwOBA, Jake Burger, at the deadline. Like Toussaint, Chicago’s offense has fared better at home than on the road — the team’s .682 OPS dips to .672 in away games.
The odds are stacked in Texas’ favor. The Rangers sit at -115 (53.5%) via FanDuel Sportsbook to win by at least two runs. Texas has gone an MLB-best 34-21-0 (61.8%) on the runline at home this year. The White Sox have gone a steady 30-26-0 (53.6%) on the run line in their away games and 27-18-0 (60%) as a road underdog. However, Burger’s departure absolutely decimates their already-awful offense, and having to take on Scherzer will prove tough — the White Sox own a brutal .672 OPS against RHPs. Either back Texas on the runline or limit your action to player props for this one.
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Best White Sox-Rangers MLB Pick: Texas -1.5 -115 at FanDuel
