Rangers Look For Home Cooking In Series vs Padres
Padres vs Rangers predictions have Texas coming out on top
The San Diego Padres try to stay hot when they take on the host Texas Rangers in a three-game interleague series between MLB playoff contenders beginning on Tuesday. The defending World Series champions are struggling a bit, but the Padres vs Rangers predictions aren’t going to be easy to make for this series.
San Diego (46-42) had its five-game winning streak snapped by the Boston Red Sox on Sunday, but it still comes into the series having won nine of its last 11 contests. The Padres are in second place in the NL West, 7.5 games behind the second-place Los Angeles Dodgers, but they currently hold the second of three Wild Card spots in the National League.
Texas has been going the other way, losing six in a row before salvaging their series finale against the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday night. The Rangers (38-46) are in third place in the AL West standings, 4.5 games behind the second-place Houston Astros, and they need to turn it on if they want the chance to make the postseason to defend their title.
Despite playing on the road, the Padres are one of the best MLB bets today, getting -116 odds on the moneyline for the series opener.
- The Rangers are listed at -102 to pick up the straight-up win on Tuesday night.
If you’re betting on the run line, you can get Texas at -170 when it gets 1.5 runs at home, while San Diego is +140 when it gives those runs. The over/under for the series opener is set at 7.5 runs, with -122 odds for the over and +100 for the under.
The first two games of the series are set for 8:05 p.m. ET first pitches, while the series finale is scheduled for a 2:35 p.m. ET start on Thursday. All games of the series will be played at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.
Game 1
Padres vs Rangers 
Day/Time:
Location: Globe Life Field, Arlington, Texas
Streaming: SDPA
Pitching Matchups
âš¾ Game 1 âš¾
- Dylan Cease (San Diego) vs Nathan Eovaldi (Texas)
Right-hander Dylan Cease will start in the series opener for San Diego, looking to repeat his absolutely dominant performance in his last outing.
Cease, who is 7-6 with a 3.84 ERA, is fourth in baseball with 125 strikeouts in 98.1 innings of work this season. Against the Washington Nationals last Wednesday, he went seven shutout innings, allowing just one hit while striking out nine and walking two.
The Rangers are hoping that Tuesday’s starter, Nathan Eovaldi, can continue his home dominance. Eovaldi is 4-3 with a 3.45 ERA in 13 starts in 2024, but in eight outings at home, he’s 3-0 with a 2.22 ERA, striking out 47 and walking 12.
The righty is coming off a rough start – on the road – against the Milwaukee Brewers last Wednesday, going seven innings but allowing five runs on nine hits, including two home runs, while striking out four and walking one.
âš¾ Game 2 âš¾
- Adam Mazur (San Diego) vs Jon Gray (Texas)
Rookie right-hander Adam Mazur is slated for the second game of the series for the Padres. The 23-year-old is 1-2 with a 7.25 ERA in five starts this season, striking out 11 and walking 17 in 22.1 innings.
He picked up his first major league win in his last start despite allowing four runs on six hits over five innings against the Nationals. He’s been up and down, like many rookies are, so keep an eye on the MLB live scores on Wednesday for a possible bet as the game goes on.
Texas will counter with right-hander Jon Gray, who has been extremely up and down of late on the mound. Gray is 3-4 with a 3.77 ERA on the season, but his June was a rollercoaster ride.
In five appearances, including four starts, he had an 8.38 ERA. However, in three of those outings, he pitched a combined 11.1 innings and allowed just one run. Two of his starts, including his most recent last Thursday against Baltimore, saw him give up at least eight earned runs.
âš¾ Game 3 âš¾
- Michael King (San Diego) vs Max Scherzer (Texas)
San Diego will have righty Michael King take the mound for the series finale on the Fourth of July. King is 6-5 with a 3.61 ERA and is tied for seventh in the majors with 115 strikeouts in his 99.2 innings this MLB season.
He had a 2.67 ERA in six starts in June, including going six innings against the Red Sox on Saturday, allowing one run on five hits while striking out six and walking one.
Veteran Max Scherzer will make his third start of the season after he sat out the first three months of the season following back surgery. The 39-year-old righty is 1-1 with a 1.74 ERA, striking out eight and walking two in 10.1 innings.
He took the loss against the Orioles on Friday, going 5.1 innings and allowing two runs on four hits while striking out four and walking two.
Rangers Need To Heat Up At Plate
Sunday night’s 11-2 win over Baltimore showed the potential of the Texas lineup, but the Rangers just haven’t lived up to that potential enough this season. In the previous four baseball games, Texas had a total of 13 runs, losing each contest.
The Rangers are going to need more of what they had Sunday against a San Diego squad that ranks fifth in baseball in runs with 412 in 88 games.
San Diego has two of the top five hitters in baseball currently, with second baseman Luis Arraez and outfielder Jurickson Profar both hitting .314. Profar is on a 13-game hit streak, and he leads the Padres with 55 RBI, adding 15 doubles, 11 home runs and 47 runs scored.
Arraez, who was acquired in a mid-season trade with the Miami Marlins, went 7-for-19 at the plate over the last four games and has 16 doubles, two triples, two home runs, 22 RBI and 48 runs scored this season.
Rookie outfielder Wyatt Langford was the story of Sunday’s Rangers win, becoming the first major leaguer to hit for the cycle this season. The 22-year-old had a triple, double and single, then homered in the eighth inning to complete the cycle.
The No. 4 overall pick in last year’s draft is hitting .260 with nine doubles, four triples, four home runs, 35 RBI and 25 runs scored.
Outfielder Derek Hill is also hot, hitting three home runs over the last two games. He’s only played nine games at the big league level this season, but he’s batting .304 with four RBI and four runs scored.
Rangers Edge Padres In Very Competitive Series
The Padres vs Rangers predictions for this series aren’t easy to come by, as both MLB teams have been dealing with MLB injuries throughout this season. Texas isn’t dominant at home – going 20-19 at Globe Life Field – but San Diego is just over .500 when playing on the road.
This is a key stretch for the Rangers, and they’re going to take advantage of it. Beating a hot team like San Diego in a series could light a spark under Texas in its drive for another World Series title, and we have the Rangers among our best free MLB picks to take this series.
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