Sunday Night Baseball Is Back, And So Is Betting On It

Astros vs. Rangers, 7:00 ET

The Major League Baseball season is back in full swing and with it comes Sunday Night Baseball. This is one of my favorite things to bet on each season. It is the isolated game and usually one of the better matchups of the weekend. Tonight we have two of the best teams in the sport last season, and probably this season, as the Astros will take on the Rangers in this primetime matchup. 

It just so happens to work out that the first person to throw a no-hitter this season is going to be pitching on Sunday Night Baseball. Ronel Blanco threw 105 pitches over nine innings and didn’t allow a hit to one of the best offenses in baseball in his first outing of the year. He isn’t one of the names that you probably think of with the Astros, but he is looking to carve out a spot for himself in the rotation this year after making a few starts last season. Obviously this one was the best start of his short career. We will see what happens in this next outing today as he has to navigate through the talented Rangers lineup. Rangers hitters are batting .286 against him and have eight hits over 28 at-bats against Blanco. He has only allowed one home run, but eight RBIs against him. Not being in the comfort of his home stadium could also negatively impact Blanco in this one. 

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 17: Michael Brantley #23 of the Houston Astros hits a single during the first inning against the Tampa Bay Rays in Game Seven of the American League Championship Series at PETCO Park on October 17, 2020 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

The Rangers title defense is off to a good start. Last year the Rangers were able to knock the Astros out of the playoffs on their way to the World Series victory. This is the first of many series this season between the two and I’d be willing to bet they are some of the baseball we see during the regular season. This should be a strong rivalry as long as the Astros can extend their title window and the Rangers continue investing in their team. Tonight, the Rangers send out Dane Dunning to the hill in hopes of taking this game. Dunning recorded a win in his first outing this season and was able to post a quality start. He went a strong 6.1 innings, and allowed only three hits, but two of them were home runs. He also allowed four walks, which is a bigger concern for me, because if he can’t control those, teams will eventually start capitalizing on him. Astros hitters have been pretty successful against him, going 28-for-91 in their collective careers. He has allowed 10 walks and four home runs while striking out 19. 

I think this is a game where you fade the guy coming off of the no-hitter. He obviously has quality stuff, but I think Dunning is the better pitcher and the books are giving a more favorable line to the Astros partially because the Astros are still a good team, and partially because Blanco will probably get some public money on him. I'm going to take the Rangers to win this one at the -120 price and I think Dunning leads us there through five innings. 

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