Start Time: 3 PM EST
Location: Ballpark at Arlington (Texas)
Starting Pitchers: Miguel Gonzalez (Baltimore) vs Derek Holland (Texas)
Recommended Sportsbook to Bet At: Bovada.lv Sports

The summer isn’t letting up anytime soon in the state of Texas, and the scorching heat isn’t about to stop the hometown Rangers from continuing their improbable run to the playoffs with a little more than a month remaining in the regular season. Once considered an afterthought in the playoff picture before picking up pitcher Cole Hamels at the trade deadline, the Rangers have quietly become the hottest baseball team in the majors behind the Toronto Blue Jays.

Texas is riding a 3-game win streak and look to sweep the reeling Baltimore Orioles in the 3rd game of a 9-game home stand at the Ballpark at Arlington. On the mound for the Rangers will be Derek Holland, who, after spending most of the season on the DL, is looking to bounce back from a shaky no decision against the Blue Jays last week. They will need their ace to get back to form soon as they look to lock up the 2nd wildcard spot or possibly even chase down the Houston Astros in the AL West.

As for the Baltimore Orioles, they will be sending in Miguel Gonzalez to stop the bleeding in what’s been an awful 10-game stretch in which they’ve gone 1-9 and virtually knocked themselves out of wildcard contention in the process. It hasn’t been all sunshine and roses for Gonzalez, as he has lost 5 of his last 6 starts and has given up 20 earned runs in 26 innings of work so far in the month of August.

Betting the Baltimore Orioles Over/Under (Totals)

Bettors who sign up at Bovada.lv (50% bonus up to $250) can bet the over/under 9.5 runs (-105) on this game today.

The stat line for Baltimore’s Miguel Gonzalez has been down right ugly all of August. He has an ERA north of 6.00 and is facing a piping hot Texas offense. Although the Rangers have only scored 4 runs a game in their last 4 matchups, they’ve only lost one of those games and have also left way too many men on base. I don’t see them having this issue today against Gonzalez.

On the flip side Baltimore’s bats have been prone to spurts of offensive power and they might be able to take advantage of Derek Holland’s inability to close out games since he’s come back from injury. Regardless, I still think the Rangers offense puts up some runs today to give Holland some much-needed support and this should help push this game OVER the 9.5 runs Bovada.lv is predicting for this game.

Texas Rangers Runline Bets and More

You can bet the Rangers at -1.5 (+155) at Bovada.lv when you sign up for a new account. The moneyline is also attractive at -130 if you’re too unsure about the Rangers pulling a “W” by more than 2 runs.

The Rangers are EVERYTHING the Baltimore Orioles have not been in their last 10 games. The streaking Rangers have gone 7-3 in this span but have won some close games despite leaving a lot of men on base and not scoring as much in the past week or so. This is mainly due to starting pitching finally getting it together, as well as Texas getting healthier and healthier as the race for the final wildcard spot tightens up.

Derek Holland will look to get the Rangers their 4th straight win and a much-deserved sweep of the Orioles. He hasn’t looked like the lockdown pitcher of old just yet, but he’s put up quality starts since he’s been back from injury. The Rangers should be able to give him some good run support today as they look to keep ahead of the Angels for that aforementioned last AL Wildcard spot. As added motivation, Texas is looking to creep back to .500 at their home ballpark, where they had previously struggled before getting red hot there after the All-Star break.