Rangers vs Astros Game 2 Player Props, Picks, Odds & Same-Game Parlay

• The Houston Astros try to even the ALCS in Game 2 on Monday afternoon
• The Texas Rangers won the opener 2-0 and can take a massive two-game lead in the best-of-seven tonight
• See the Texas Rangers vs Houston Astros Game 2 odds, player props, and same-game parlay picks for Oct. 16

A dominant performance on the mound from Jordan Montgomery staked the Texas Rangers (96-72, 45-41 away) to a 1-0 lead in their best-of-seven ALCS with the Houston Astros (93-74, 40-44 home). On Monday afternoon, the Rangers – who have still yet to lose a game in the 2023 playoffs – can take a commanding 2-0 lead with the before the series shifts back to Texas for Games 3, 4, and 5 (if necessary).

First pitch on Monday is slated for 4:37 pm ET/3:37 pm CT at Minute Maid Park in Houston. The Rangers/Astros Game 2 odds once again favor Houston, but only by the slimmest of margins.

Rangers vs Astros Game 2 Odds

Monday’s MLB odds list the Astros as very slight -120 moneyline favorites to even up the best-of-seven series. The Rangers are even-money road underdogs while the game total remains at 8.5, same as the opener, which obviously stayed under by a wide margin. Texas cashed as a +120 road underdog on Sunday.

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Odds as of Oct. 16 on the DraftKings Sportsbook app. Claim this DraftKings sign-up promo code to wager on Game 2 of the 2023 ALCS. 

The AL Pennant odds flipped overnight. Houston had been a -140 to advance before the series started. After Texas took the opener, the Rangers became -180 chalk to advance to the World Series in the MLB playoff bracket.

Texas vs Houston Game 2 Starting Pitchers

The Game 2 pitching matchup features two playoff veterans: the Rangers send 33-year-old Nathan Eovaldi to the mound against 29-year-old Framber Valdez for the Astros. Both pitchers have a boatload of history against the lineups they’ll be facing on Monday night, and Houston’s starter has the more-encouraging numbers, though neither are fantastic.

Nathan Eovaldi vs Framber Valdez

The Ranger lineup has a .251/.317/.358 slashline against Valdez in 187 total at-bats with four home runs, six doubles, and 14 RBI. Valdez started against Texas three times in 2023 and the results were highly varied. The first was a four-hit, one-run outing over six innings; the second was a six-hit, six-run disaster over just 3.2 innings; and the third was a six-hit, one-run gem over seven strong. Valdez had just 12 strikeouts over those 16.2 innings, well below his 9.1 K/9 rate for the season as a whole and his 8.8 career K/9 number.

Valdez had an ugly outing in his first start of the 2023 postseason, allowing five runs on seven hits and three walks over just 4.1 innings against the Twins during a 6-2 loss. That said, he has a solid 3.82 postseason ERA over 73 innings in his career.

TEX vs HOU Game 2 Player Props

Monday’s MLB player props have both starting pitchers at 4.5 strikeouts and 14.5 outs recorded. Valdez, however, is significantly favored to go over 4.5 Ks (-150) while Eovaldi is a +120 underdog to reach five Ks. Valdez also has slightly better odds to reach 15 outs (-170) than his Texas counterpart (-150), though both are expected to make it through the fifth inning.

Yordan Alvarez has the shortest odds to go yard at +320. Alvarez homered in the first three games against the Twins but has been held inside the park in his last two, including his first hit-less game of the 2023 postseason yesterday (0-for-4 with three strikeouts). The 26-year-old Cuban has one home run off Eovaldi in 11 career at-bats.

Eovaldi’s numbers against Houston are truly horrendous. The Astros are slashing .310/.377/.614 off Eovaldi in 145 total at-bats. Seven different Houston hitters have taken him yard, led by Jose Altuve with five in just 38 at-bats.

Texas Rangers vs Houston Astros Predictions & Same-Game Parlay for Game 2

The way these two lineups have hit against today’s starters, don’t expect Game 2 to look anything like Game 1. Valdez’s ugly first start of the postseason makes it all the more likely that runs will come early and often. His inability to get swings-and-misses against the Rangers in the regular season has me targeting the under on his strikeout prop.

I am also going to ride the Rangers’ magical playoff run to continue for another game. Pairing that with a somewhat-correlated under on Valdez’s strikeout prop of 5.5 at FanDuel spits out a +191 same-game parlay.

On the opposite side, it’s too hard to ignore Altuve’s long-ball history against Eovaldi. DraftKings is offering the diminutive Houston second baseman at +600 to hit a home run, which is a solid price.

Game 2 TEX vs HOU Picks:

• Altuve to hit a home run (+600)
• First 5 innings over 4.5 runs (+104)
• Same-game parlay: Rangers moneyline  + Valdez under 5.5 Ks (+191 at FanDuel Sportsbook)