Texas Rangers vs Houston Astros Prediction, Preview and Odds - 09/16/2025

Game Time: 8:10 pm ET, Tuesday, September 16, 2025

Venue:  Daikin Park, Houston, TX

Where to Watch:  Rangers Sports Network, SCHN

DraftKings:  Moneyline odds:  Rangers -121, Astros -101; Over/Under:  8 runs

Bet365:  Moneyline odds:  Rangers -120, Astros +100; Over/Under:  8 runs

BetMGM:  Moneyline odds:  Rangers -120, Astros +100; Over/Under:  8 runs

Texas Rangers:  79-71 (3rd place, AL West)

Houston Astros:  81-69 (2nd place, AL West)

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Texas Rangers:  7-3 last 10

Houston Astros:  4-6 last 10

The Rangers are entering this series off a loss and won their 3-game series against the New York Mets 2-1 in their last series. They enter this game with a 79-71 record overall and have a road record of 32-43. This is the 2nd game of a 3-game series with the Astros on Tuesday with the series opener still to be played on Monday. Their offense ranks 25th in the MLB with a .693 OPS. Jack Leiter is their starting pitcher on Monday while Merrill Kelly is making his start in this game on Tuesday. He is 12-7 with a 3.21 ERA this season. His team won their last 4 straight games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season appearance, he allowed 3 ER, 2 HR, and 0 BB with 6 SO on 10 hits through 5.2 IP against the Milwaukee Brewers.

The Astros are entering this series off a loss and won their 3-game series against the Atlanta Braves 2-1 in their last series. They enter this game with an 81-69 record overall and have a home record of 43-32. This is the 2nd game of a 3-game series with the Rangers on Tuesday with the 1st game of this series still to be played on Monday. Their offense ranks 13th in the MLB with a .718 OPS. Jason Alexander is their starting pitcher on Monday while rookie pitcher AJ Blubaugh is making his start in this game on Tuesday. He is 3-1 with a 2.45 ERA this season. His team lost 4 of their last 5 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 0 strikeouts on 1 hit through 1 inning pitched against the Atlanta Braves.

The current betting odds have the Rangers listed as an underdog in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. The Rangers have looked good in their games this season with their 79-71 record overall which has them right in the middle of the AL West and in the Wild Card race. They haven't been a great road team though with their 32-43 road record this season. Meanwhile, the Astros have looked great in their games this season with their 81-69 record overall which has them right near the top of the AL West and in the division race. They have also looked great in their own ballpark this year with their 43-32 home record. The Astros haven't looked great lately though as they are only 4-6 in their last 10 games while the Rangers are 7-3 and have been really hot lately. The Rangers are still fighting to get into a playoff spot too so they are going to bring their best effort since they need the game more, and they have the better pitching matchup to take advantage of too. Kelly is on the mound for the Rangers in this one and he has looked good this season. He is 12-7 with a 3.21 ERA and hasn't been giving up many runs. He did give up 3 earned runs in his last start, but that hasn't been a common theme for him this year and the team has still won 4 games in a row now with him starting too. The Astros are going with Blubaugh in this one and he has looked good this season, but he hasn’t been a starter for most of the year. This will likely be a bullpen game for the Astros and that gives the Rangers the edge with the better pitching staff. All signs are pointing to the Rangers in this one as the hotter team with the better pitching. The best way to place a bet here is on the Rangers to win this game. 

Rangers Astros Prediction:  Our MLB Pick for Tuesday, September 16, 2025 (8:10 pm ET start time) is Rangers 5 Astros 3.

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Texas Rangers: 195-169 (+8.8 units) on the moneyline against right-handed starters. 40-33 (+6.3 units) on the moneyline vs. a starting pitcher who gives up 0.5 or less HR's/start. 109-80 (+12.4 units) on the moneyline vs. AL teams scoring 4.4 or less runs/game on the season. 34-14 UNDER vs. an AL starting pitcher whose WHIP is 1.300 or better.

Houston Astros: 266-219 (-13.3 units) on the moneyline in all games. 129-115 (-41.5 units) on the moneyline in home games. 83-68 (-6.1 units) on the moneyline against division opponents. 29-20 UNDER vs. an AL starting pitcher whose WHIP is 1.300 or better.

Texas Rangers:  J. Gray (SP) Sixty Day IL - Shoulder. D. Coulombe (RP) Fifteen Day IL - Shoulder. C. Seager (SS) Ten Day IL - Appendectomy. E. Carter (CF) Sixty Day IL - Wrist. N. Eovaldi (SP) Fifteen Day IL - Rotator Cuff. M. Semien (2B) Ten Day IL - Foot. S. Haggerty (CF) Ten Day IL - Oblique. T. Mahle (SP) Sixty Day IL - Shoulder. C. Bradford (RP) Sixty Day IL - Elbow. J. Sborz (RP) Sixty Day IL - Shoulder.

Houston Astros:  J. Altuve (LF) Day To Day - Foot. L. McCullers Jr. (SP) Fifteen Day IL - Hand. L. Garcia (SP) Sixty Day IL - Elbow. K. Ort (RP) Fifteen Day IL - Elbow. S. Arrighetti (SP) Fifteen Day IL - Elbow. J. Rooney (SP) Sixty Day IL - Concussion / Nasal. B. Sousa (RP) Fifteen Day IL - Elbow. B. Walter (RP) Sixty Day IL - Elbow. J. Hader (RP) Fifteen Day IL - Shoulder. I. Paredes (3B) Sixty Day IL - Hamstring. B. Rodgers (2B) Sixty Day IL - Oblique. Z. Dezenzo (RF) Sixty Day IL - Hand. P. Leon (RF) Sixty Day IL - Knee. R. Blanco (SP) Sixty Day IL - Elbow. H. Wesneski (RP) Sixty Day IL - Elbow.

“We had our chances, but we couldn’t get a productive out. We really didn’t need a hit. Getting in a guy at third just didn’t happen for us with less than two outs. That’s how you win ballgames. That was missing today.” - Bruce Bochy after his team’s loss against the Mets in their game on Sunday.

“We hit balls hard today. Moving forward, we’ve got two big series ahead of us, so if we can carry some of those at-bats into the next series, we’re going to find ourselves in good shape.” - Joe Espada after his team’s loss against the Braves in their game on Sunday.

Josh Smith (L) SS

Wyatt Langford (R) CF

Joc Pederson (L) DH

Jake Burger (R) 1B

Adolis García (R) RF

Alejandro Osuna (L) LF

Josh Jung (R) 3B

Jonah Heim (S) C

Dylan Moore (R) 2B

Jeremy Peña (R) SS

Yordan Alvarez (L) LF

Carlos Correa (R) 3B

Jose Altuve (R) 2B

Christian Walker (R) 1B

Jake Meyers (R) CF

Victor Caratini (S) DH

Yainer Diaz (R) C

Jesús Sánchez (L) RF

Batting Average:  Dylan Moore (.294)

Hits:  Josh Smith (121)

Home Runs:  Corey Seager (21)

RBI:  Adolis García (73)

Stolen Bases:  Wyatt Langford (19)

Wins:  Jacob deGrom (12)

Saves:  Luke Jackson (9)

ERA:  Cole Winn (1.53)

Batting Average:  Zach Cole (.400)

Hits:  Jose Altuve (146)

Home Runs:  Jose Altuve (25)

RBI:  Christian Walker (81)

Stolen Bases:  Jeremy Peña (20)

Wins:  Framber Valdez (12)

Saves:  Josh Hader (28)

ERA:  Jayden Murray (0.00)

Managers:

Texas Rangers: Bruce Bochy (3rd season)

Houston Astros: Joe Espada (2nd season)