Houston Astros to beat Texas Rangers

The Rangers have lost nine consecutive games, including road series sweeps against both the Toronto Blue Jays and Detroit Tigers, and things won’t get any easier for them in this three-game set against Houston.

The Astros are 58-39 on the season and have a 31-20 home record that is the second-best in the AL.

Houston will start Jake Odorizzi for this one and he’s struggled recently, taking the loss in his last two games to drop to 3-5 on the season. He does, however, boast a solid 4.09 ERA and gave up just six runs across 27 total innings in a five-game stretch between 9 June and 9 July.

Starting for Texas will be Kolby Allard, who is 2-7 on the season after taking the loss in his last five starts. The left-hander’s ERA is currently 4.06 but he’s given up 18 earned runs across those last five losses.

Milwaukee Brewers to beat Chicago White Sox

Home advantage and an edge in the pitching match-up should be enough for the Brewers to earn the win in this meeting of two of the best teams in baseball.

Milwaukee (56-41) and Chicago (58-38) own two of the best records in either league, but the White Sox have been much better at home than on the road so far. They’ve gone 35-17 in their own ballpark and 23-21 on their travels.

The Brewers are 27-23 at home and will start the impressive Freddy Peralta here. He’s 7-3 on the season and his 2.39 ERA ranks fifth in the National League.

He holds an edge over Chicago starter Lucas Giolito, who has gone 8-6 this season and boasts a 3.90 ERA.

San Francisco Giants to beat Pittsburgh Pirates

The Giants are coming off a 3-1 road series win over the Los Angeles Dodgers and are now three games clear at the top of the NL West.

San Francisco has won seven of its last 10 games, while the Pirates have lost four in a row and dropped to 36-60 on the season, with a 15-34 record on the road.

The Giants will start Johnny Cueto, who is 6-5 this season with a 4.01 ERA. He gave up one run on two hits while going five innings in his last start against the St Louis Cardinals.

The veteran righty faces Chad Kuhl, who is 3-5 this season with a 4.31 ERA. Kuhl is coming off a strong start and a win against the New York Mets, but he likely won’t receive the run support he needs to win this battle with Cueto.

Oakland Athletics to beat Seattle Mariners

Oakland took the first game of this four-game divisional series on Thursday and has now won three games in a row and seven of its last 10.

Seattle, meanwhile, has now lost back-to-back games and has suffered three consecutive defeats against the A’s, all of which were at home.

The pitching match-up here looks relatively even with Oakland starting Frankie Montas and Seattle turning to Yusei Kikuchi, but Montas has the edge on recent performances.

The right-hander is 8-8 this season with a 4.33 ERA, but he’s given up just seven runs in 22.4 total innings across his last four starts.

Kikuchi boasts a solid 3.92 ERA and is 6-5 on the season, but he’s coming off back-to-back losses and has allowed 12 runs in his last 10 innings.