Tuesday, March 14, 2017

Salt River Fields

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Probable Pitchers: Chi Chi Gonzalez vs. Taijuan Walker

The Texas Rangers visit Salt River Fields on Tuesday, March 14, 2017 to play the Arizona Diamondbacks in a Spring Training matchup. The probable starters are Chi Chi Gonzalez for the Rangers and Taijuan Walker for the Diamondbacks.

The opening line for this matchup has Texas at +100 and Arizona at -120. The Rangers had a 79-73-10 over/under record and a 83-79-0 run line mark last season, meaning they covered 51% of the time. The Diamondbacks were 67-95-0 against the run line and had a 89-67-6 over/under record. They covered the spread 41% of the time.

The Rangers are coming off a 95-67 record in 2016, including 42-39 on the road. Starting pitcher Chi Chi Gonzalez had a 0-2 record with an earned run average of 8.71 and a WHIP of 2.90. He had 7 strikeouts over his 10.1 innings pitched and he gave up 21 hits last season. He allowed 18.3 hits per 9 innings and he had a FIP of 5.66. The bullpen last year had an earned run average of 4.40 and they gave up 521 base hits on the year. Teams hit .258 against the bullpen while being struck out 425 times and walking 190 times last season. As a team, Texas allowed 8.99 hits per nine innings while striking out 7.2 batters per nine innings. They were 22nd in the league in team earned run average at 4.37. The Rangers pitchers collectively gave up 1,441 base hits and 700 earned runs. They allowed 201 home runs last season and they allowed 1.3 homers per nine innings as a staff. Texas as a pitching staff walked 534 batters and struck out 1,154. They walked 3.3 men per 9 innings while striking out 7.2 per 9. They had a team WHIP of 1.37 and their FIP as a unit was 4.58.

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As a team Texas batted .262, good for 5th in the league while putting together a .245 average away from home. The Rangers held a .433 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .322 which was good for 15th in baseball. They ranked 8th in baseball with 8.93 hits per game. Jonathan Lucroy is coming off a 2016 season in which he hit .292 with an on-base percentage of .355. He had 143 hits last season along with 67 runs scored and 81 runs batted in. He struck out 100 times and walked 47 times. Adrian Beltre hit .300 last year and he had an on-base percentage of .358. He totaled 175 hits while scoring 89 runs and he drove in 104. He walked 48 times and struck out on 66 occasions. The Rangers had 1,446 hits, including 257 doubles and 215 home runs. They stole 99 bases and were thrown out stealing 36 times. Texas walked 436 times last season and they struck out 1,220 times as a unit. They left 1,038 men on base and had a team OPS of .755. They scored 4.72 runs per contest and scored a total of 765 runs last year.

Arizona had a 33-48 home record and a 69-93 overall mark in 2016. With an earned run average of 4.22, Taijuan Walker had a 8-11 record and a 1.24 WHIP last season. He had 119 strikeouts over the 134.1 innings he pitched during which he gave up 129 hits. He allowed 8.6 hits per nine innings and his FIP stood at 4.99. Last season the bullpen had an earned run average of 4.94 and they gave up 583 base hits on the year. Teams hit .263 against the Diamondbacks bullpen while being struck out 520 times and walking 260 times last season. As a team, Arizona allowed 9.69 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.17 batters per nine innings. They were 30th in the league in team earned run average at 5.09. The Diamondbacks pitchers as a team surrendered 1,563 base knocks and 821 earned runs last season. They gave up 202 home runs last year and they gave up 1.3 home runs per nine innings as a staff. Arizona as a staff walked 603 hitters and struck out 1,318. They gave up a walk 3.7 times per 9 innings while they struck out 8.2 per 9. Their team WHIP was 1.49 while their FIP as a staff was 4.50.

As a team, they batted .261, good for 8th in the league while putting together a .270 average at home. The Diamondbacks held a .432 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .320 which was good for 17th in baseball. They ranked 4th in baseball with 9.13 hits per contest. Paul Goldschmidt comes into this matchup after batting .297 with an OBP of .411. He had 172 hits last year along with 106 runs scored and 95 RBI. He struck out 150 times and walked on 110 occasions. Yasmany Tomas hit .272 in 2016 and he had an OBP of .313. He collected 144 hits while scoring 72 runs and driving in 83. He earned a walk 31 times and punched out 136 times. The Diamondbacks as a unit had 1,479 base hits, including 285 doubles and 190 homers. They had 137 stolen bases and were thrown out 31 times. Arizona as a team walked 463 times last year and they struck out 1,427 times. They had 1,113 men left on base and had an OPS of .752. They scored 4.64 runs per game and totaled 752 runs last season.

Texas Rangers Betting Trends

The Texas Rangers were 79-73-10 against the over/under last season

The Texas Rangers were 83-79-0 against the run line last season

Arizona Diamondbacks Betting Trends

The Arizona Diamondbacks were 89-67-6 against the over/under last season

The Arizona Diamondbacks were 67-95-0 against the run line last season

Injuries to Watch

Texas Rangers

No key injuries to report

Arizona Diamondbacks

No key injuries to report

Guy's Pick: Take the Rangers +100

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