The Daily Sweat: Rangers and Astros loaded up for a great AL West race
While plenty of teams are still in contention for the postseason and many made moves at the deadline, two teams did more than the rest, and they're both battling for one division title.
After the Texas Rangers loaded up on pitching, including Max Scherzer from the New York Mets, the Houston Astros went and got Justin Verlander, also from the Mets. Then they watched Framber Valdez throw a no-hitter Tuesday. With the deadline passed, the Rangers are up a half-game on the Astros in the AL West standings. It should be a fun final two months watching them chase the division crown.
The Rangers next take on the Chicago White Sox, who will be starting Dylan Cease after he wasn't traded. They're -145 favorites at BetMGM. The Astros' game against the Cleveland Guardians wasn't on the board as of Wednesday morning, but it's a good bet they'll be favored, too.
Texas has had a fantastic season, with the +147 run differential to prove it. That's the best run differential in the AL, only five runs behind the Atlanta Braves for the best in the majors. But the Rangers have to be wondering how to shake the Astros, the defending World Series champions, who got off to a mediocre start to the season but are still less than a game back in the standings.
The Astros are the favorites to win the AL West despite being slightly behind the Rangers. Houston is -125 to win the division, while the Rangers are +120. Both teams had great rosters and made big additions at the deadline, but one of them will have to settle for a wild-card spot.
Here's the first look at the sports betting slate for Wednesday:
The rest of MLB
It's a full Wednesday slate in the majors, with six afternoon games. There are some good matchups across the board, starting with a Los Angeles Angels-Atlanta Braves rubber match to the series that starts at 12:20 p.m. ET. The Angels have played better since deciding to be buyers at the deadline, and new addition Lucas Giolito is on the mound Wednesday. The Braves are -150 favorites.
The Baltimore Orioles are looking to stay hot against the Toronto Blue Jays. They've taken the first two games of a four-game set at Toronto and are still in first in the AL East. The Blue Jays are -125 favorites despite dropping the first two games of the series.
Also, the Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds meet again after splitting the first two games of a four-game series. The Cubs won 20-9 with a home run barrage Tuesday. The Reds are tied with the Milwaukee Brewers for first place in the NL Central, but the Cubs are just 3.5 games back.
Rest of the sporting world
There is one WNBA game, with the Dallas Wings as a 6.5-point favorite at the Seattle Storm. There are a couple of Women's World Cup matches early Thursday morning. And we are one day away from our first NFL preseason game.
What's the best bet?
I'm going to keep backing the Orioles until that well dries up. Grayson Rodriguez is on the mound for the O's, and he has been very good since coming back from the minors. Baltimore has been one of the best teams in baseball this season. I'm fine getting them as a +105 underdog.
