MLB Games Of The Day For Thursday, August 11

Odds and analysis for the most anticipated matchups

By Matthew Horner – Aug 11, 2022, 12:17am

Rangers vs. Astros is always an interesting matchup to me because it is the battle of Texas, and it really gets people riled up down there in the Lone Star state. While Houston has been far and away the more dominant team lately, Texas has been doing its best the last few seasons to rebuild their team. Corey Seager, Nathaniel Lowe and Adolis Garcia have been key players for the Rangers in 2 022, and they are here to bridge the gap between being awful and competing for championships. They actually have been better than their record shows. with just a -3 run differential at the time of this writing. The Astros are in their prime window right now, and it shows, as they are one of the very best teams in baseball. A young gun on the mound here is why I am excited to watch this one, and see how he does against a potent Houston lineup in his second start of the season.

Cole Ragans gets the nod for his second career start on Thursday. In his first start of his career, he went five innings while striking out three in a no-decision, allowing one unearned run on three hits and four walks. He gets this start after that strong debut against the White Sox, but he'll need to cut down on the walks to consistently succeed in the big leagues. Still, that was a great debut for the 24-year-old, and I'm intrigued to see how he does going forward. It looks like he should have at least a few starts with Jon Gray still on the IL.
  
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