Texas Rangers vs Atlanta Braves Prediction, Preview and Odds - 07/18/2026

Game Time: 4:10 pm ET, Saturday, July 18, 2026

Venue:  Truist Park, Atlanta, GA 

Where to Watch:  MLB TV

DraftKings:  Moneyline odds:  Rangers +104, Braves -126; Over/Under:  9 runs

Bet365:  Moneyline odds:  Rangers +105, Braves -125; Over/Under:  9 runs

BetMGM:  Moneyline odds:  Rangers +105, Braves -125; Over/Under:  9 runs

Texas Rangers:  49-47 (1st place, AL West)

Atlanta Braves:  55-40 (1st place, NL East)

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Texas Rangers:  5-5 last 10

Atlanta Braves:  5-5 last 10

The Rangers are entering this series off a win and won their 3-game series against the Houston Astros 2-1 in their last series. They enter this game with a 49-47 record overall and have a road record of 25-25. This is the 2nd game of a 3-game series with the Braves on Saturday with the series opener still to be played on Friday. Their offense ranks 17th in the MLB with a .719 OPS. Cal Quantrill is their starting pitcher on Friday while MacKenzie Gore is making his start in this game on Saturday. He is 5-8 with a 4.63 ERA this season. His team lost 2 of their last 3 games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season appearance, he allowed 1 ER, 1 HR, and 1 BB with 4 SO on 2 hits through 4 IP against the Houston Astros.

The Braves are entering this series off a win and lost their 3-game series against the St Louis Cardinals 2-1 in their last series. They enter this game with a 55-40 record overall and have a home record of 27-18. This is the 2nd game of a 3-game series with the Rangers on Saturday with the 1st game of this series still to be played on Friday. Their offense ranks 14th in the MLB with a .722 OPS. Chris Sale is their starting pitcher on Friday while Owen Murphy is making his start in this game on Saturday. He is 0-1 with a 2.25 ERA this season. His team lost both of their games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season appearance, he allowed 0 earned runs, 0 homers, and 0 walks with 3 strikeouts on 0 hits through 3 innings pitched against the St Louis Cardinals.

The current betting odds have the Rangers listed as a slight underdog in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. The Braves have looked great in their games this season with their 55-40 record overall which has them right at the top of the NL East. They have looked great in their own ballpark too with their 27-18 home record this season. Meanwhile, the Rangers have looked good in their games this season with their 49-47 record overall which has them right at the top of the AL West. They haven't been a great road team though with their 25-25 road record this year. Both of these teams are 5-5 in their last 10 games respectively, but the Braves got out to a really hot start this season and they have been coming back down to Earth over the last few weeks. The Rangers have been really up and down themselves all season, but they will be looking to come out of the All-Star break strong now that they are leading their division. Gore is on the mound for the Rangers in this one and he hasn't looked great this season. He is 5-8 with a 4.63 ERA, but lately he has looked a lot better. The team has still lost 2 of their last 3 games with him starting, but he is coming off a great start in which he gave up 1 earned run and he hasn't been giving up as many runs lately. The bullpen has also been pitching much better for the Rangers and will be key in this series against a Braves team with a banged up pitching staff. The Braves are going with Murphy in this one and he has looked good this season. He is 0-1 with a 2.25 ERA and hasn't been giving up many runs, but he hasn't had many appearances either. He has only appeared in 2 games this season, his team losing both of those, and he hasn't really been a starter either. The Braves are going to have to rely more on their bullpen in this one, but that hasn't been a winning strategy for them. Look for the Rangers to take advantage of this pitching matchup and keep themselves at the top of the AL West. The best way to place a bet here is on the Rangers to win this game. 

Rangers Braves Prediction:  Our MLB Pick for Saturday, July 18, 2026 (4:10 pm ET start time) is Rangers 3 Braves 1.

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Texas Rangers: 15-20 (-6.4 units) on the moneyline against NL East opponents. 208-212 (-19.1 units) on the moneyline in all games. 91-120 (-26.9 units) on the moneyline in road games. 6-3 UNDER when playing against a good team (Win Pct. 54% to 62%). 9-5 UNDER vs. teams outscoring opp by 0.5 or more runs/game on the season.

Atlanta Braves: 34-24 (+4.9 units) on the moneyline vs. an AL starting pitcher whose WHIP is 1.300 or better. 29-21 (+4.7 units) on the moneyline vs. a team with a good bullpen whose WHIP is 1.350 or better. 55-40 (+6.3 units) on the moneyline in all games. 121-76 UNDER in home games. 35-19 UNDER vs. an AL starting pitcher whose WHIP is 1.300 or better.

Texas Rangers:  C. Martin (RP) Fifteen Day IL - Shoulder. J. deGrom (SP) Day To Day - Glute. J. Junis (RP) Fifteen Day IL - Hip. C. Seager (SS) Ten Day IL - Back. C. Freeman (3B) Ten Day IL - Disc. J. Leiter (SP) Fifteen Day IL - Ankle. M. Helman (CF) Sixty Day IL - Hand. J. Beeks (RP) Ten Day IL - Back. D. Jansen (C) Ten Day IL - Forearm. R. Garcia (RP) Sixty Day IL - Shoulder. C. Baumler (RP) Sixty Day IL - Ribs. C. Bradford (RP) Sixty Day IL - Elbow. J. Montgomery (SP) Sixty Day IL - Elbow.

Atlanta Braves:  M. Yastrzemski (LF) Ten Day IL - Elbow. M. Perez (SP) Fifteen Day IL - Forearm. H. Kim (SS) Ten Day IL - Finger. R. Suarez (RP) Fifteen Day IL - Elbow. S. Strider (SP) Sixty Day IL - Elbow. R. Acuna Jr. (RF) Ten Day IL - Hamstring. S. Murphy (C) Sixty Day IL - Finger. A. Smith-Shawver (SP) Sixty Day IL - Elbow. J. Wentz (RP) Sixty Day IL - Knee. J. Jimenez (RP) Sixty Day IL - Knee. S. Schwellenbach (SP) Sixty Day IL - Elbow.

“He came in and said, ‘I want the ball. I'm ready.’ That was the conversation. Obviously, I can't just say yes. There's some people that I have to make sure that it’s OK that I do give him the ball today. But everyone felt good about his health. As long as that all checked out, we were good to go. He's an unbelievable teammate, competitor. He always wants the ball. He's a 10 out of 10 competitor, and I think after the last start too, I think he really wants this start to go into the second half in a positive direction.” - Skip Schumaker after his team’s win against the Astros in their game on Sunday. 

"It felt close to a must-win. People talk about must-wins, and I guess there's never a must-win unless it's Game 7. But it felt close to it. We needed to win this game, salvage one in this series and head into the break." - Walt Weiss after his team’s win against the Cardinals in their game on Sunday. 

Joc Pederson (Z) DH

Wyatt Langford (D) LF

Josh Jung (D) 3B

Brandon Nimmo (Z) RF

Jake Burger (D) 1B

Ezequiel Duran (D) SS

Evan Carter (Z) CF

Nicky Lopez (Z) 2B

Kyle Higashioka (D) C

Drake Baldwin (Z) C

Ozzie Albies (A) 2B

Matt Olson (Z) 1B

Michael Harris II (Z) CF

Mauricio Dubón (D) LF

Dominic Smith (Z) DH

Austin Riley (D) 3B

Jim Jarvis (Z) SS

Brewer Hicklen (D) RF

Batting Average:  Nicky Lopez (.324)

Hits:  Josh Jung (100)

Home Runs:  Jake Burger (16)

RBI:  Jake Burger (58)

Stolen Bases:  Evan Carter (11)

Wins:  Nathan Eovaldi (9)

Saves:  Jacob Latz (18)

ERA:  Jacob Latz (1.61)

Batting Average:  Jair Camargo (.500)

Hits:  Michael Harris (99)

Home Runs:  Matt Olson (25)

RBI:  Matt Olson (58)

Stolen Bases:  Ronald Acuña (15)

Wins:  Chris Sale (9)

Saves:  Raisel Iglesias (19)

ERA:  Victor Mederos (0.00)

Managers:

Texas Rangers: Skip Schumaker (1st season)

Atlanta Braves: Walt Weiss (1st season)