Texas Rangers vs Boston Red Sox Picks and Predictions August 3rd 2024

Red Sox Aim to Pick on Struggling Rangers’ Staff Again

The Texas Rangers, riding a three-game long string of failures, will expect to slow the Boston Red Sox‘s offense on Saturday night in Arlington, Texas. Boston opened the three-game series with a 11-6 triumph on Friday. Texas has been outscored 29-8 during its pallet.

The Red Sox hit three home runs in the Friday win, which raised their road record to 31-22. Wilyer Abreu and Ceddanne Rafaela each hit a two-run blast, and Rafael Devers added a performance shot in the 10th. Devers participates in the Saturday challenge on a nine-game hitting streak in which he is batting .528 (19-for-36).

“They’re a decent hitting ballclub,” Texas manager Bruce Bochy said. “They’re one of the top hostile teams in baseball. It was an extreme night for the pitchers all evening, really. … You have to continue to battle. That’s all you can do.”

Rangers’ Pitching Struggles

The Rangers have lost six of their past seven games, with the pitching staff compiling a 7.98 ERA in that stretch. Connor Wong had four of Boston’s 16 hits in the series opener. The Red Sox have at least 10 hits in 12 of their past 15 games.

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“Offensively it was an outstanding night,” Boston manager Alex Cora said. “We got the first one out of the way, which is important. I talked to the staff about it, this whole Fridays and not winning games … it put us in a bad spot going into the weekend. You win that one and then you have two chances to win the series, and we are in the business of winning series. Hopefully we can do it (Saturday).”

The Rangers had not announced a starting pitcher for the Saturday contest. “We’re going to talk about it, where we’re at,” Bochy said following Friday’s loss. “I think we’re fine, but we will huddle up here soon and talk about the game plan (Saturday) and the next couple days. … If we have to bring somebody up, we’ll do that.”

Tanner Houck’s Recent Form

Boston will go with right-hander Tanner Houck (8-7, 2.79 ERA). Houck had a 2.18 ERA through his first 16 starts this season, when he recorded 101 strikeouts and walked 18 in 103 1/3 innings, but he hasn’t been nearly as effective since then. He has a 5.26 ERA in his past five outings, logging 15 strikeouts and 15 walks over 25 2/3 innings.

“I think just timing issues and delivery just feels a little out of whack as of late, over the past month, but ultimately that’s the way that a full 162 games is going to play out,” Houck said. “You’re not always going to feel your best. You’re not always going to have everything clicking, and it’s about getting back to those days that you feel that and just keep showing up. Don’t really (need) to reinvent the wheel.”

Houck is 0-1 with a 3.86 ERA in two career appearances (one start) against Texas. He has allowed three runs on four hits in seven innings against the Rangers.

Rangers’ Hostile Features

Texas got two performance home runs from Cory Seager in the Friday misfortune. Marcus Semien added a two-run homer for the Rangers, who also got a performance homer from Leody Taveras. All things considered, staying up with Boston’s offense wasn’t sufficient.

The Rangers desire to make something happen on Saturday and halt the Red Sox’s force, aiming to get a genuinely necessary success to end their ongoing slide.