Tigers vs Rangers Predictions, Odds & Starting Pitchers (June 29)

• The Tigers and Rangers conclude a four-game series on Thursday, June 29th
• Against teams with a winning record, Detroit is 9-1-1 to the over in its last 11 games
• Have a look at the Tigers vs Rangers odds, predictions, and best bets

After splitting the first two games of their series, the Rangers (49-31, 26-14 home) delivered the smackdown to the Tigers (34-45, 16-24 away) on Wednesday night, destroying the squad from Motown 10-0. Detroit will seek a split and a measure of revenge when the sides meet up on Thursday, June 29th at Globe Life Field.

Opening pitch for this affair goes at 2:05 pm ET and will be shown on Bally Sports Network. An interesting stat related to these squads is that the Rangers provide the best return on investment against the spread this season, but the Tigers are returning the most cash on the moneyline, despite being well below the .500 mark.

We break down the best bets to make on this game below and provide the Tigers vs Rangers odds. We’ll also analyze the starting pitchers before offering up our picks.

Tigers vs Rangers Odds

Following a huge victory, the Rangers are once again favorites to score the victory in this matinee affair and take three of four from Detroit. Only three of the Tigers previous 10 games have gone under the run total in the betting odds.

As you might expect for a late June matinee in Texas, this one will be a scorcher. Luckily, humidity is only expected to be around 37%, but the game time temperature will be around 98 degrees with the sun shining throughout.

Odds as of June 28th at Bet365. Claim a Bet365 bonus code to bet on Thursday’s MLB action or SBD’s Bet365 review.

Detroit vs Texas Probable Pitchers

Putting up terrible numbers with Triple-A Toledo this season, some Tigers fans were wondering why Reese Olson got the call up to the big show in early June, but powered by a nasty slider, he’s silenced the doubters.

Reese Olson was dealing in his 4th Major League start.

5 1/3 IP | 4 H | 1 R | 1 BB | 9 K

The No. 11 @tigers prospect has 17 K's over his last two appearances: pic.twitter.com/rJpMualwcD

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) June 25, 2023

In his first career start at the beginning of the month, the 23-year old held the White Sox hitless through his first five innings of work. He’s given up some untimely big hits, which is the reason for his less than impressive 4.74 ERA, but the rest of his numbers are worth noting including a 1.05 WHIP and 10.2 strikeouts per nine innings.

Coming off his first win against Minnesota, he’ll hope to carry some confidence into this matchup against one of the best MLB lineups. A good start against Texas will go a long way into Olson maintaining a spot in the rotation going forward.

Olson vs Bradford Stats

On the other side is another freshman arm, Cody Bradford makes the start for the Rangers. He actually pitched two-thirds in relief against the Tigers on Monday, so who knows how long he’ll be allowed to stay on the mound in this one.

The Tigers could have a good chance to wake up their struggling bats in this one, as the rookie left-hander has been tagged in his first three big-league starts. Opponents own a hard-hit rate of 55.6% with an average exit velocity of 94.8 miles per hour against Bradford when he starts.

Texas Dominates During the Day

Not only does Texas have 15 more wins than Detroit this season, but they love playing when the sun is out. Their players are likely used to playing in the scorching heat of the Southwest, but we can’t say the same for Detroit.

Numbers that get me going:

Josh Jung: Hit in 7 of 10 (9-40, .225, 2B, 2 HR)

Ezequiel Duran: Hit in 8 of 10 (17-40, .425, 4 2B, 3B, 2 HR)

Adolis Garcia: Hit in 9 of 10 (11-39, .282, 2 2B, 4 HR)

— Colby Marchio (@C_Marchio2) June 28, 2023

During day games, the Rangers own a 21-9 record. Only one team, the Yankees, has a better winning percentage in the league. However, the Tigers struggle in the MLB odds before night descends. They are 14-25 during the day, while owning a .500 mark at night.

Tigers vs Phillies Picks

All signs point to another Rangers win on Thursday and I wouldn’t dissuade anybody from making that bet as no team’s World Series odds have shortened more since the start of the campaign.

However, our lock for this contest is to pick the over. Already, six Rangers players have at least 10 home runs including the chalk in the MLB Rookie of the Year odds, Josh Jung who went deep Wednesday and now has 15 dingers.

In Detroit’s last 11 games against teams who have more wins than losses, they have hit the over 81.8% of the time and with rookies on the bunk on both sides, we see that trend continuing in the Texas heat Thursday afternoon.

Pick: Over 9.5 Runs (-115)