Rangers vs Pirates Odds, Picks, & Starting Pitchers (May 22)

• The Rangers and Pirates begin a three game series on Monday, May 22nd
• Owning the 2nd best record in the American League, the Rangers are -154 chalk for the series opener
• Check out the Rangers vs Pirates predictions, odds, and probable starting pitchers

Fresh off a three game sweep of the Rockies, the Texas Rangers (29-17, 13-9 away) embark on a nine-game road trip, starting on Monday, May 22nd against the Pirates (24-22, 11-11 home). First pitch for the series opener is scheduled for 6:35 pm ET for a game that can be seen on Bally Sports Network and AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh.

After an outstanding 20-8 start to the season, the Bucs have come back down to reality and pay +1000 in the NL Central division odds. On the other hand, with a two game lead in the AL West, the Rangers are parked right behind the Astros at +220 to win their division.

Rangers vs Pirates Odds

One of the pleasant surprises of the 2023 season so far, the Rangers are -154 betting favorites to defeat the Pirates on Monday.

On offense, Texas has been tearing it up of late, scoring 43 runs over their last five games, averaging 8.6 runs scored per outing. Temperatures are expected to be a beautiful 76 degrees during the ballgame at PNC Park with very little wind, so the conditions should be ideal.

Odds as of May 21st at Caesars Sportsbook. Get a Caesars promo code to bet on MLB. 

Texas vs Pittsburgh Probable Pitchers

Now in his fourth MLB season, Dane Dunning really seems to be hitting his stride for the Rangers. He’s made 11 appearances, but only three starts this year, all in his last three outings. He’s thrown 17 innings as a member of the rotation and allowed only three runs in those starts.

In just over 37 innings of work, the 28-year old righty hasn’t allowed a single long ball this year and owns a sparkling 1.69 ERA and 0.88 WHIP, both career bests.

Dunning vs Ortiz Stats

In just two appearances this season, the Bucs Luis Ortiz has failed to impress. He’s allowed 14 hits in just eight innings of work.

The bulky righty seems to have lost some velocity on some of his key pitches. He is throwing a sinking fastball double the amount he did last year, but has seen the average velocity dip to 96.5 miles per hour from 98.5 last campaign.

For as high as his potential is Luis Ortiz has shown why he started the year in the minors. When fully healthy, the Pirates have better starting pitching options right now. Problem is, their starting pitching has been hit hard by injury.

— Rum Bunter (@rumbunter) May 17, 2023

At the same time, he is getting hit much harder this year a 48.6% rate compared to a 30% rate last season. It’s vital for the Bucs that Ortiz reach his potential, so they’ll do all they can to help him get things figured out, but at the moment, his stuff just doesn’t look up to par.

Rangers Offense Making Them Good Bet in MLB Odds

Through just over a quarter of the season, the Rangers have displayed one of the best MLB lineups. Entering Sunday’s action, they ranked second to only Tampa in the entire league in team batting average as well as runs scored.

As such, they’ve hit the over in 27 of 45 games this year, a 60% success rate to exceed the projected run total in their matchups. In their last six contests, they haven’t gone under the betting line in the MLB odds a single time.

Rangers vs Pirates Predictions

At this point in the season, Texas is the best team in baseball to wager on to cover the spread. They are 29-17 against the run line and provide the best return on investment of any team in baseball when picking them against the spread.

The Texas @Rangers:

– Have won 11 of their last 15 games
– Have scored double-digit runs 12 times, most in MLB
– Lead MLB with 297 runs scored and 6.5 runs per game pic.twitter.com/glLt9P36AN

— MLB (@MLB) May 21, 2023

This game has all the attributes of another big win for the Rangers. They’ve von six of their last eight, while the Pirates have lost five of their last eight. In addition, Texas has one of their best hurlers on the hill, while the Bucs are countering with a struggling starter who is making only his third appearance of the season.

Our prediction here is to ride the Rangers with confidence that they’ll cover the run line. In the MLB futures, you may want to consider sprinkling some cash on them in the World Series odds at +2200, pretty lengthy odds for a side that currently has the second best record in baseball.

Pick: Texas Rangers Run Line -1.5 (+112)