Rangers vs. Tigers (June 18): Will Detroit’s disappointing bats wake up against Hearn?

In MLB’s six divisions, the only second-place team that currently has a losing record is the Texas Rangers.

That may not be the case for very long, with Texas now within two games of .500 after taking the first two games of their road series against the Detroit Tigers.

Texas is nine games behind the Astros in the AL West standings, but they have won five of their last seven games and are slowly working their way into relevancy. A win today will give Texas a chance to sweep on Sunday and move to .500 for just the second time all season.

Texas Rangers vs. Detroit Tigers Betting Odds and Matchup Information

Matchup Information

• Matchup: Texas Rangers (31-33, 17-15 road, 2nd in the AL West) vs. Detroit Tigers (24-40, 16-22 home, 4th in the AL Central)
• Venue & Location: Comerica Park (Detroit, Michigan)
• Date: Saturday, June 18, 2022
• Game Time: 4:10 p.m. Eastern Time
• TV Broadcast/Streaming Info: FS1

Rangers vs. Tigers Pitching Matchup

• Texas Rangers: Taylor Hearn (2022: 12 starts, 4-4, 5.37 ERA)
• Detroit Tigers: Rony Garcia (2022: 12 appearances – four starts, 0-2, 5.06 ERA)

Rangers vs. Tigers Odds

Game odds are via BetOnline. Odds from our other top reviewed and recommended sportsbooks may also be included in this article.

Moneyline

• Texas Rangers -130
• Detroit Tigers +110

Over/Under

• OVER 9 (-102)
• UNDER 9 (-120)

Run Line

• Texas Rangers -1.5 (+128)
• Detroit Tigers +1.5 (-154)

Will Pitching Continue to Lead the Way for the Rangers in Detroit?

Since finishing tenth in MLB in team ERA nine years ago, the Rangers have finished in the bottom ten every season since.

But things appear to be headed in the right direction, as they are in the top half of the league in team ERA thus far this season.

The arms have certainly led the way so far in this series. In Thursday’s opener, Martin Perez pitched his latest gem, allowing one run and eight hits in seven innings and striking out five. Perez was in line for the loss, but three ninth inning runs propelled the Rangers to a 3-1 win.

In last night’s 7-0-win, Jon Gray followed Perez’s outing by tossing seven stellar innings himself. In his seven innings of work, Gray struck out six, allowed five hits, and didn’t give up a run or a walk.

For today’s matchup, Taylor Hearn gets the starting assignment for the Rangers. Hearn was 0-2 with a 7.47 ERA in four April starts, but since then, he is 4-2 with a 4.54 ERA in eight starts since.

This season, the 27-year-old lefty is 2-1 with a 6.52 ERA in four road starts. His numbers are certainly not fantastic by any stretch, but his team is 3-1 in his road starts and 6-2 in his eight starts across May and June.

Texas Rangers vs. Detroit Tigers Prediction and Best Bets

Rangers vs. Tigers Prediction: Rangers to win

Rangers vs. Tigers Best Bets: Rangers ML (-130 at BetOnline, Bovada Sportsbook & BetUS) & OVER 8.5 (-120 at BetUS & BetMGM)

The Rangers have not been a road favorite often–this will be only the seventh time this season–but they are 4-2 in this spot so far. Things are trending up for both Hearn individually and for the Rangers collectively, and that should continue today against the Tigers.

Both of these teams rank in the top ten in the big leagues in bullpen ERA, with Detroit sixth (3.22) and Texas ninth (3.48).

While there may not be many runs late, both Hearn and Garcia have been fairly generous in their stints.

The Tigers have been shut out three times in their last six games and recorded either no runs or one run five times in that six-game stint. But they should get a few runs on the board against the Rangers, even if it isn’t enough to pull out the win.

Hearn has given up three or more runs in nine of his 12 starts this season. has given up multiple runs and at least one homer in his four starts thus far this season, while Garcia has given up multiple runs in each of his four starts.

The total feels a little higher than ideal, but only one of Garcia’s four starts has featured fewer than nine runs, while there have been nine or more runs in three of Hearn’s four road starts.

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